


The Corpses of Shining Stars

by DoesEmily



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Corpse Party, Blood, Death, Female Pronouns for Narukami Arashi, Gen, Gore, If there’s anything not matching the canon story of CP please know I played this game two years ago, M/M, More ships will be added soon, Pray that I don’t kill your favs, So i might forget stuff, anyway Sachiko is here to screw us all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-02-20 01:14:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 64,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13136061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoesEmily/pseuds/DoesEmily
Summary: (Corpse Party x Ensemble Stars AU)After being swallowed into this horrible nightmare of a school, the idols try to survive and find a way to go back home.If only it were that simple.Not everyone is lucky enough to stay.The spirits will always find them.





	1. No Signal Within These Walls

**Author's Note:**

> (Quick note: There will be spoilers for Corpse Party’s plot and also lots of brutal and detailed deaths, this is a warning in case you are avoiding spoilers/gore)
> 
> Hello! This will be an Ensemble Stars X Corpse Party AU, it will be painful, lots of your favorites will die, I am crying as I write. I planned out the entire AU so hopefully this won’t go abandoned like so many AU fics out there. Hopefully.

It’s dark.  
And really dirty too.  
Was it a school? Mao thought it was. It looked like one. But not like Yumenosaki.. This one looked... old.

Mao was on the floor, he woke up on that floor, head throbbing from pain, a headache? The pressure here was so intense, it made him feel sick. This wasn’t a normal place to say the least.

He can’t remember much about how he got here, last thing he remembers was performing a charm given by Tsumugi with all his seniors, juniors and classmates as a “farewell” charm to greet off his graduating senpais, and last thing he expected was for the floor to open up and swallow them in like that.

Bad luck perhaps?

No, this has nothing to do with his luck, this was clearly a much more grave situation. This place reeks of eeriness and he could faintly smell something metallic off in the distance. What’s going on...?

Mao stood up and looked around, he wasn’t alone. His unit members of Trickstar were all in the room, also on the floor, they also seem to be waking up, confused just as he is. This is probably the biggest trouble he could get himself wrapped into.

“Hnn- Sari~? Hokke~? Ukki~?” Subaru stood up and stumbled a bit, obviously lightheaded from the change in atmosphere. “Everyone from Trickstar is here... but.. Where’s everyone else..?”

“I have no clue. Any ideas where we are?” Hokuto said as straightforward as always.

“I just woke up now so I dunno..” Makoto, obviously terrified right now.

Who wouldn’t be.

After all, being in an unknown classroom wasn’t the worst of it. But if it was broken up, floor boards missing, windows scratched and desks scattered and in pieces, now that’s the worst of it.

It felt like a battlefield’s after effects, like a war passed by, but clearly that isn’t the case as of now. This is clearly something unnatural. How did they end up here? There’s no way they were kidnapped, they were swallowed by the gaping hole of what seemed to be an earthquake’s effect.

How would they end up in a school after all that?

Mao looked on the floor to think more but noticed something else instead, it was his yellow hair clip, how’d it get off his head, but that wasn’t the attention-catcher, there was a ripped paper right next to the clip.

Mao bent down to pick up both items and thoroughly looked through the paper.

A piece from a newspaper.

It read:  
————————————————

November xx, 195x

Successful Opening of the new Heavenly Host Elementary School! 

Interview article with Principle xxxxxx

————————————————

That was all it read. Many words ripped or blackened out.

“Wait. 19...5.. something? Is that.. the year? This article is that old..?”

“Hmm? Sari? Whatchu got there?” Subaru looked over Mao’s shoulder.

“Is that a newspaper?” Hokuto questioned.

“Uwaah it’s so old!” Subaru pointed at the date.

“Nevermind that, the article mentioned a school, Heavenly host?” Mao rubbed his chin with curiosity.

“Hmm.. never heard of it, anything in mind, Yuuki?” Hokuto glanced at Makoto.

“Eh..? W-Well, I’ve read little tidbits here and there so I don’t know too much.. but I think it’s some kinda school that got shut down for some reason..? There wasn’t anything about it that had too much detail..” Makoto looked down worriedly.

Heavenly host... What is this..

Mao walked over to the windows and tried to open them. Wouldn’t budge, it’s as if they were painted on. He then moved to the sliding doors and grabbed the handle, with all his strength, he opened the door so easily that he almost slipped over.

“Huh, so this opens.. Should we check if we find anyone? Maybe we could find a way out of here..” Mao gestures by pointing outside.

“W-Wait!! Wouldn’t it be dangerous..? I mean, you see how this class looks like, what if there’s worse out there??” Makoto half blurted out half whimpered. He was scared, but so was Mao, and everyone else.

They were suddenly in an unknown broke place and have no idea why. Who wouldn’t be scared.

Hokuto stepped up “No, Isara is right. We may not know what’s happening here, but staying put won’t do us good.”

“Hey hey, what if we just call someone to pick us up? Maybe they could track us down!” Subaru suggests.

Right, why hadn’t they thought of it?

Mao takes his phone out and scrolls through his contact numbers until he realizes..

“Hey... There’s.. no signal..” Mao quickly lost one hope, but there was still a chance for them, they could just explore around and maybe they’ll find their way out.

“Aww that sucks.. hey Ukki~ let’s lighten the mood together, hehe~ let’s go partner!” Subaru’s trying to lighten the mood, but there’s a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

“S-Sorry, Akehoshi-kun.. I’m not feeling up to it, b-but when we get back, we can do it together!! Like always!!” Makoto racked up a little courage, but that was for a mere moment, he was also feeling tense.

Mao took the first step out of the classroom, preparing himself for everything he might see or encounter, he knows it won’t be easy, this entire pressuring atmosphere is just screaming danger at him.

The three members followed behind, looking around the broken corridors and scratched up walls. The floors were filled with holes, they have to be extra careful not to slip into one.

The smell started getting a bit musty, like garbage that’s been laying around the room for weeks. This made Mao shiver for some reason. He surely won’t like what’s coming next.

Mao takes a turn at the end of the hallway and immediately regrets doing that. So that’s the cause of smell, no wonder.

The other three bump into Mao, and before they could ask why he halted like that, their eyes widen with surprise and could feel fear eat them up at the speed of light.

A body.

A dead one.

Well.. the remains of one.

The idols stood in shock, they struggle to find the right reaction, until Makoto’s staggering breath turns into a scream of terror.

This isn’t a joke anymore.

Their life was on the line for real.

“W-What.. the hell...” Mao wants to vomit from seeing it. Wait, he thinks he already internally did.

Subaru lets out stuttered noises as he falls backwards to the ground on his behind. He can’t even form words to describe that horrid view.

Hokuto is also on the verge of throwing up, unlike Makoto who already is right now. But he holds himself back, trying to play the calm role.

“This.. This is real....?” Subaru finally speaks up, voice shaking.

“I think.. so..” Hokuto speaks up, surprised at how low and startled his own voice is.

So even something like this can shake up Hokuto. Of course it would, it was such a gruesome horrible view.

The distorted body missing an arm (which could be seen a few feet away) and face had the still reaction of a painful shock, but he was sure the gaping hole in the middle of the body was the thing that took the cake.

It wasn’t a body he recognized at least, the uniform looked like it was from a different school too.

But the fact that remains is that they’re not safe here. They had to find a way out right now.

“Guys.. we need to move.. I don’t think staying in one place is a good idea.. not with.. what we saw..” Mao suggests, voice shaking.

“W-W-What d-do you t-think killed.. that person..?” Makoto, who finally took a breath after his little breakdown, asked.

“I.. have no idea.. I want to believe it’s human at least.” Hokuto muttered.

“H-Human or not, we gotta go, I don’t want any of us to die like that!!” Subaru panicked.

“Then we move... Let’s find everyone fast before anyone.. ends up like that..” Mao took a breath and moved, avoiding the unfortunate body on the floor and walking past it.

They’ll get out. They can do it. They just need to stick together... right..?

No, they will. They will be free soon. He just needs to find everyone and escape together and it’ll all go well.

He needs to find Ritsu first of all, he has no idea what he may be undergoing right now. What if he’s alone? What if he’s getting killed?

He can’t let Ritsu end up like that dead body. He’ll do anything to to keep him alive. He’ll survive.

“Hehehe....”

A voice rung out. 

Mao turned around. No one but his teammates. That giggle.. it was like a child’s... 

So it IS going to be up against the supernatural. That’s.. tough.


	2. Wandering Spirits Take All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knights explore the eerie halls of Heavenly Host until a little visitor interrupts...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello it’s me the Grinch who ruined Christmas by writing this AU on Christmas, enjoy this chapter!

What a pain.

Ritsu lazily moved through the hallway, following his teammates who lead the way.

“Tch.. This is seriously sooo annoying, I would rather be with Yuu-kun right now.. I wonder where he is..” Sena complained.

“Ugh, this weather is NOT suitable for my skin at all..” Arashi whined.

What a paaain.

Ritsu can’t take their complaining anymore and grumbles “If you keep complaining loudly, we’ll end up like that skeleton from earlier.”

Everything went quiet.  
Oops. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought that up.

A few of what seemed to be minutes (maybe an hour now), they encountered the skeletal remains of what seemed to be a body. It was old from its looks, and definitely not the body of someone they know. But it shook them up, caused even the calm and cool Sena to fall to his knees from fear.

Sena and Arashi tried to lighten the mood a little after it, but they were obviously terrified. Tsukasa was utterly horrified that he stayed silent the whole time, probably thoughts paralyzed from fear. Leo on the other hand.. He was oddly quiet and emotionless. Like that skeleton cursed him and rid him of his humane side. Was he scared? Not affected? Ritsu had no idea, not that he cares anyway. All that he wants right now is to find Mao. Right, that’s his main objective right now.

“Izumi-chan.. I don’t think we’re gonna end up anywhere like this..” Arashi spoke up to break the silence.

“Haah? Then what do you suggest we do, you were the one who said we should explore around.” Sena grumbled.

“Yes yes I know! But I’m just.. worried.” Arashi held her arms huddled towards her chest, trying to calm down.

She was scared. But so was Sena, and everyone else too. Except Ritsu. He was way too calm about this, the only thing in his mind right now is Mao. He has to find him as soon as possible.

“Hm..?” Tsukasa turned around and his eyes widened with sudden fear. “Aaaa.. aaaah.. Ritsu.. senpai.. what.. is that..?”

Tsukasa was pointing across the dark hall, it was hard to see without any illumination, Ritsu squinted to get a better look and–

Oh.

A little child.

Glowing child in fact.

Was that normal? He didn’t think it was.

“Uwah it’s creepy looking.” Ritsu commented. 

He inched closer to the that child in hopes of making out what the figure looks like. It was a pretty small one, but the closer he got the more the disturbing details hit him. This child.. a little girl.. her left eye was missing.

“H-Huh..?” Ritsu’s stomach suddenly clenched from the intense feeling of dread. Oh no. It was a mistake to get close to this thing. He has to get away immediately.

“Big bwo....” The child spoke, tongue not holding the words right. “Give me youw eye....” Oh. There was no tongue.

“S-SHIT” Ritsu scrambled and turned around the moment the child raised their face. Quite the disturbing face. He had to run.

“Hm? Kuma-kun, what’s wro-“

“QUICKLY RUN AND DON’T LOOK BACK” Ritsu panicked and started running off, hoping Knights were right behind him.

Sena looked behind and saw a child running towards them. Oh fuck.

“FUCK RUN!” He grabbed Leo’s hand and rushed across the hall, avoiding the holes that threatened to drop him. Right behind him were Arashi and Tsukasa who were on the verge of crying.

“IS IT STILL BEHIND US??” Tsukasa cried.

“FUCK I DON’T KNOW JUST RUN!!” Sena was exploding with fear right now. This place is haunted? Are they going to end up like that body from before? Why was this even happening?? The third years were finally graduating and did the charm to deepen their friendship, so why.. Why did things have to turn out like this?

“S-Sena? A-Are we gonna die??” Leo finally spoke after that long silence. Voice filled with anxiety. Poor Leo had no idea what’s going on anymore.

“JUST KEEP RUNNING OU-SAMA!” Sena didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think about ending up like a dead body. To end up as nothing but skeletal remains.

“OVER HERE!!” Ritsu gestured to everyone so they could follow.

He passed through the middle road of the hall, where the floors were on the verge of breaking down. Hopefully that supports their weight. Ah shoot. He might have jinxed it.

After Ritsu passes, Sena crosses right after him until...

“Sena wait up– AHH” With one step, Leo trips and falls over the floorboards, a sudden shaking that breaks the floor.

Oh shit.

“OU-SAMAAA!!” Sena, with his quick reflexes, caught his hand before he could fall down the hole, and struggled to pull him up until Ritsu helped him.

“I-IT BROKE??” Tsukasa’s voice was shaking. Oh right.. Arashi and Tsukasa were still on the other side.. and the little child right behind.

“NO NO NOO IZUMI-CHAN PLEASE HELP US!!” Arashi broke down with tears. Was this how her fate will end?

“SHIT RUN LEFT JUST GO WE’LL MEET UP AGAIN SOON!!” Sena screamed helplessly as Arashi and Tsukasa ran to the other side.

The child stopped chasing as it watched them go off, instead it walked towards the hole and stopped right at the edge.

It’s just standing there. Staring at the three boys with her one soulless eye.

“Agghhhh... big... bwo.......” It chanted for a while until it seemingly gave up and vanished.

“What the absolute hell was that...” Sena dropped to the ground, feeling guilty that he separated himself with Arashi and Tsukasa. Tch.. one hell of a senpai he sure is.

“A-Are.. Are Naru and Suo gonna be okay..?” Leo stuttered, looking across the hall in hopes of them coming back, but nothing happened.

“We’ll look for them.. Naru-kun can probably handle it.” Sena lied. Arashi is probably crying her eyes out right now. He wants to cry too, but he has to endure it for Leo. He has to be the Knight that protects his king.

“I’m leaving.” Ritsu declared all of a sudden.

“What do you mean..?” Sena questioned... he means... together.. right?

“I’m going to find Maa-kun.”

“Huh..? What about Na-“

“I don’t care. Find them on your own. I won’t let Maa-kun stay alone.”

Ritsu started walking off, ignoring Sena who was yelling at him to come back. He loves everyone in Knights, Sena, Arashi, Tsukasa, Leo... They were all important to him.. but right now.. All that matters is...

Maa-kun.

If he leaves with Knights, then Mao might be in deeper trouble. What if he was currently dying? What if he was getting tortured by these ghosts? What if he was already dead?

He shook off these terrible thoughts and kept moving. Sena’s voice was no longer audible. He was all alone now. Not a soul to be sensed near.

It was.. how should he put it.. lonely?

Eerie. Creepy. Made him feel uneasy. No, this wasn’t loneliness. It was fear. Ritsu Sakuma? Feeling dread and fear? It was new in his book, he hated the feeling.

Ritsu was now near the infirmary, or at least that’s what the label atop the door spelled. Maybe he should take a quick peek.

The door creaked loudly, annoying Ritsu, so he left it half open and slid himself into the room. No one was inside. At least that means no ghosts?

Ritsu poked around the room, inspecting every nook and cranny of it. There were a pair of beds with dirty sheets that he was sure are probably reeking with disgusting insects. On the other side, a cabinet stood with an unbelievable amount of knives, scalpels and syringes inside. What the hell, that’s not what an infirmary should even have.

Next to the cabinet is a desk, probably for the nurse, which had nothing interesting but tattered papers. Ritsu took a look nonetheless.

The first seems to be a piece of an article.

———————————————

Heavenly Post

Breaking News: Serial kidnappings end in murders.

Recently, 4 elementary students were kidnapped and fouXX deaX except XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX girl XXXXXXXX suspect of murders XXXXXXXX

———————————————

Many words were blackened out and the rest was ripped. What a pain.

Ritsu took a look at the other papers, none too informative as they were either too ripped to understand or blood had covered their words.

“Hmm.. weird but has nothing to do with me..hnn?” 

As Ritsu shuffled the papers, he noticed a particular one with what looked like pictures of people... wait...kids..?

There were four photos, one of which was completely covered up with blood. The other three were pictures of children, probably elementary.

One was a little boy. Name Ryou Yoshizawa.

A little short haired girl. Name Tokiko Tsuji.

And another girl with lower twintails. Name Yuki Kanno.

Yep, definitely won’t bother memorizing them.

“Oh well... huh.. wait...” Ritsu scanned the third image of the girl with low twintails and realization hit him like a truck.

This girl... she’s the same one as the girl who was chasing him and Knights.

This might be important after all.

Suddenly, creaking sounds rung through the room and Ritsu instantly lowered himself, as if to hide. Did a spirit find him?

“H-Hello...?”

A sweet gentle voice greeted him. Ah, it was none other than his cute little junior.

“Haa-kun? Is that you?” Ritsu lowered his guard.

“Ritsu-Onii-chan?” Hajime peeked through the door and beamed up. “Ahh it is!!”

Hajime comes running in to Ritsu, in which the latter pats his head. Finally, someone who could spoil him. He was just kidding, being spoiled right now is the last thing he wants, he’d rather find Mao and get out, he supposes he could also take his cute junior with him too.

“Haa-kun, were you all alone?”

“I was with everyone in Ra*bits but... “ Hajime starts sniffing, tears slowly filling his violet eyes. “W-We saw something so h-horrible... a d-dead.. *hic* b-body..”

What a cruel place this is. These first years don’t deserve to witness such horrid views.

“So how’d you get separated?”

“Mitsuru-kun ran off and Tomoya-kun chased him... T-Then we ended up lost from them.. and while Nazuna-nii-chan and I were looking for them... I..ran.. to look-” Hajime trailed into a sob. Poor thing..

He must have been so determined to find his friends to run off like that.

“Shh.. I’m here now Haa-kun... I’m looking for Maa-kun, we could go together..” Ritsu offered with a gentle smile.

“Y-Yes, t-thank you.. Onii-chan..!!” Hajime smiled back, tears falling down his cheeks. How cute..

“Big... bwo......?” 

That voice.. Again??

Ritsu swiftly pulled Hajime into his embrace and hid behind the curtains that separated the beds from them. He gestured to Hajime to remain silent, and maneuvered a little to the side to keep an eye at the door. He can’t let notice them or it’s all over.

“Whewe... iz... my... eye...” The ghost wandered into the infirmary. Not good.

Ritsu stayed put, there’s a chance it didn’t notice him yet. The spirit wandered for a few seconds before looking at the door. Is it leaving..?

No, instead, another spirit entered. A.... child... but... hard to tell who.. their entire head was missing after all.

Hajime’s shaking beside Ritsu. The sight of the headless child was one discomforting sight.... He’s surprised Hajime isn’t screaming or crying right now.

The spirits suddenly halt their movements to stare at each other... until.. they sharply turn their view towards Ritsu’s direction, a creepy big smile forming on the kid with the missing eye.

“Hehehe...I foumd you.. big bwo..!” 

Oh fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP cliffhanger, I wonder what Ritsu will do... Oh nooooo.... :3c
> 
> Twitter: @DoesEmily  
> Nag me to continue here wink wink nudge nudge


	3. Unhinged At The Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ritsu and Hajime are discovered by two spirits who want to “play”. Ritsu doesn’t like the sound of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter’s a tiiiiny bit longer, couldn’t find a good place to stop so hope it doesn’t end awkwardly.

Bad bad bad bad bad BAD.

They’re not getting out of this one. Ritsu and Hajime are dying right here. This is their end. Ritsu wants to stop these panicked thoughts, no, he can’t die here, not when he still hasn’t found Mao.

“Ahh... AHHHHH!!” Hajime screamed and clenched onto Ritsu’s back.

“Big bwo...... ets... pway....” The spirit’s smile grew wider.

Ritsu held on to Hajime and stood up, backing away as there was no other way to go for him. The spirits were blocking his way, leaving no path.... or there was one..

“You wanna play..? Then go ahead!” Ritsu held Hajime’s hand and slipped through the ripped curtains beside him, thinking he could swerve past the spirits, and marvelously, it actually worked. The spirits looked surprised and slightly angered too.

The door, he has to reach it before the spirits move. Door... Handle... handle..? Where?

“H-Huh??” Panic rushing through Ritsu’s system, he tried kicking the door but it didn’t even budge. Did he not notice the infirmary door’s inside didn’t have a handle? Either way they’re screwed if they don’t kick open the door anytime soon.

“BIG BWO.. COME BACK” The spirits followed eerily, and Hajime let out a loud sob.

“P-PLEASE!! PLEASE DON’T HURT ANYONE!!” Hajime cried out helplessly.

“Haa-kun they won’t listen just help me open the door!!” Ritsu kept kicking around aimlessly, wait.. the hinges.. maybe if he could get them unscrewed, a few more sturdy kicks should do.

“P-Please listen to me!! I beg you!! You’re all good children!!!” Hajime tried to communicate with the ghastly children, and for some reason, they seem to slow down.. perhaps.. they’ll listen?

“Goo..h... shi..wd..wen....” The spirits stopped in their tracks to look at each other. Well, Ritsu assumed they both did, it was hard to tell when the other was headless.

“Y-Yes! You’re all good! So please! Don’t hurt anyone..!” Hajime was trying his best to be sympathetic, was it really working?

“Hu...wt...”

“D-Do you know? I have little siblings like you!! I-I’m sure if you’re good, you’ll be just like them..!” 

“Big... bwo.... pway... wi..hh.. us...” The ghost’s tone was suddenly darker than earlier, is that a good or bad sign..?

After one more hit, the hinges broke and the door dropped down towards the other side. Finally! His leg was starting to get sore anyways, so he’d very much prefer it if Hajime cut the talk and started running.

“Haa-kun the door’s down, come on..!” Ritsu tugged on Hajime’s jacket.

“Don’t worry! Ritsu-onii-chan, look, they just wanna play! I’ll certainly play with you, but promise not to go out hurting others!”

Hajime’s getting too attached, this is bad, these ghosts have no sense of humanity, if Hajime says one thing wro-

“Hehehe..” The two spirits started giggling ominously as they walked closer to Hajime and held his hands.

“See~? They won’t hurt if we talk normally to them!” Hajime smiled joyfully. The spirits smiled too. Not so joyfully.

“Wait.. NO HAA-KUN GET AWAY FROM THEM!!!” Ritsu sprang to catch Hajime and pull him away from the spirits, but a sudden forced emitted by the eyeless ghost sent him flying out of the infirmary door, slamming him onto the wall. That ought to leave one big mark later.

“AAAUGH!!” Ritsu yelled out in pain. The slam left him paralyzed for a little while as the throbbing started moving everywhere onto his nerves. God it hurt him like hell.

“R-Ritsu-Onii-chan..?” Hajime turned around frightened by the sudden slam.

Turning around was a mistake.

Going into this infirmary itself was a huge mistake on its own.

The headless ghost grabbed Hajime’s back and forced him on the floor, emitting a yelp of pain from the idol.

“H-HAA-KUUUN!!” Ritsu had to get up, he has to save Hajime RIGHT NOW.

He groaned as pain spread through his entire body while standing up, but he has to endure it to save Hajime. He could hear Hajime’s confused yet scared whimpers from the room, this is bad, he has to hurry or-

“Stay... wi..hh... us..” The eyeless little girl was suddenly in front of him, reaching out to take a hold of Ritsu’s face, aiming for his eye. No no no no no! Not now!!

He backed away till he reached the wall, trying to swerve past her, but the piercing glare kept him in place.

On the other hand, Hajime was on the ground, with the headless ghost pressing on his neck with the sheer force of a thousand men. At this rate, he might have a hard time breathing.

“ONII-CHAAAAN!!” Hajime yelled out to Ritsu, in hopes of getting saved. Ritsu was also struggling on his end too, as the eyeless ghost had cornered him as she threatened him with a pair of bloodied up scissors.

The pressure on his neck got stronger and stronger, which made Hajime scream out in agony. He can’t die like this. If he dies, he’ll never forgive himself for never finding his friends.. getting himself separated from everyone.. and then risking his senpai’s life... no no no! He doesn’t want to die with this feeling of guilt!

“R-Ritsu...Onii......... C-Chan..!” Hajime cried weakly, his head feels dizzy, that’s right, he’s struggling to find a breath. He’s dying. He doesn’t want to die. He doesn’t want to die. He doesn’t want to die. He doesn’t he doesn’t he DOESN’T.

“HAA-KUUUUUUUN!!!” Ritsu wailed, he has no chance. This is how it all ends.

No. He won’t let it happen, he’s gonna save Hajime, if he can’t save him, then god knows if he’ll ever be able to save Mao from a situation like this.

“AAAAAAGHHH LET GOOO!!” Ritsu flings the ghost’s scissors away from the spirit, ending up slashing a bit of his arm, but that doesn’t matter. He runs past the spirit , almost slipping inside the infirmary.

“R-Rit..Ritsu-onii-cha-“

_Snap._

“Ah.”

That doesn’t sound good.

“HAA-KUUUUN!!” Ritsu tries to push the spirit off but it vanishes before he could. Damn it, they got away. Both spirits it seems. Shit.. they think this is some sort of game?

“H-Haa-kun look they’re gone!! C-Come on let’s leave!! Together!!”

...

No response.

“Haa-kun..?”

... 

Still no response.

Oh no.

“H-Hajime...?”

Ritsu kneels down to try waking Hajime up. He wasn’t sleeping. He wasn’t at all. Ritsu looked at Hajime’s neck. Ah... it was... broken.

Ritsu’s breath stop. This isn’t real. This can’t be real. Hajime Shino, the cute boy who was always around him like a sweet little cat at the tea club, helping him and offering him tea, talking to him, complimenting him, admiring him... This soft boy... Was no longer alive.

“You’re... kidding.... right..?” Ritsu turned Hajime’s body around, and looked at Hajime’s face. He looks so peaceful. Eyes that were sparkling from before.. no longer as shiny.. they were now a soulless lavender. 

This kind child with a beaming future, is no longer here.

“I see...heheh..” Ritsu started giggling. “Ahahahaaaah..!! Of course!!”

Ritsu started slipping into madness. So that’s how it is in this hell of a school. You get one hope and the other is crushed cruelly within the school’s palm. How horrible. In this place... the kind ones always die... isn’t it? No... it’s not even that unfair here. If there was a way to describe it... in this place.. no matter how kind.. or evil... 

You will still die.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAH!!” Ritsu’s going insane, so there’s no escape from the cruel grip of death.

“You should not do that.” A voice echoed.

“Huh..??? W-Who’s there?” Ritsu’s suddenly tense again.

“Do not.. let the darkening.. take over you.” The voice was clearer this time around. It was a little girl’s voice. Different than the previous spirits he met earlier. This one’s speech was much more understandable.

“Huh...? Darkening..?” Ritsu was confused, what the heck is that.

“Ehehe~ If you fall to that..”

The little girl finally shows herself. Long black hair. A red tattered dress.

“You’ll. D I E.”

“Die...?” The spirit began vanishing before Ritsu could ask any questions “WAIT HOLD UP!!”

Gone.

That spirit was odd.. it didn’t attack him like the others, instead offered him some weird advice and left... what is the darkening anyways... could it be.. the feeling of grief?

Grief.. right... Hajime... he was long gone now. Ritsu ended up letting his club mate die like that. Ritsu clenches his fist in anger, he can’t keep beating himself up for it, he has to stay alive, he’ll do it for Hajime. He’s sure Hajime would be upset if Ritsu dies now. 

“Then.. I’ll go.. I’ll go and find Maa-kun... I’ll make sure no one else that I love.. could end up like this..” Ritsu kneeled down once more and brushed down Hajime’s eyelids to close them. He looks much more peaceful that way.

Picking up the body, he places it onto the infirmary bed, it’s the least he could do for Hajime, he wouldn’t want him to be brushed off as a mere lifeless corpse. Hajime was a brilliant young idol who shined bright. That’s how Hajime’s memory will forever be etched into his mind.

“I’m off.. Haa-kun... goodnight..”

Ritsu existed the room, leaving all his mourns and griefs for another time. For now, he has to focus on Mao. He’ll protect him. He swears he will. Even if it meant he’ll die while doing so.

☆ ———————————☆ 

Ritsu’s dizzy.

It has been what seems to be hours since the infirmary incident. He’s feeling sleepy, and his arm hurts, he was slashed here after all, it stings but didn’t draw out that much blood. But his back hurts too, the wall slam’s effect was just now starting to hurt excruciatingly. He doubts there’s any first aid kit around.

“Ugh... what a pain.. I should’ve just stayed with Secchan...” Ritsu’s hopes were going down the drain, he should’ve thought before deciding to go his own way. But thinking takes too much work. He’ll just roll with it..

“Maa-kuuuun.. Maaaa-kuuuuun!!” Ritsu called out but to no avail.

He’s so sleepy despite it being dark outside...dark..?

Now that he thinks about it, it’s raining nonstop outside and the fog is everywhere, but even he’d know when it’s day or night. For some reason.. The moon never set, not a shred of sunlight was out. It should’ve been hours on end. This is too weird.. 

“Whatever.. I need to find Maa-kun... where is he...”

Ritsu wandered and avoided holes and bodies laying around. There’s quite a lot of them here, both fleshed and skeletal. So far none he could recognize though.

But this just means the Yumenosaki students weren’t the only victims to this place.

“Gah the smell stinks.. I like fresh blood not disgusting mushy dirty blood...” Ritsu complained to himself, he knows he can’t deal with it anyways. But to vent is better than to hold in.

“Hmm~?” Ritsu glances at the end of the hall, there were stairs, maybe Mao was on a different level then!

A few steps is all it takes for him to notice what was wrong.

Piano wires.

He’s so thankful that he noticed the silver lines before running into them. If he never noticed, he would’ve ended up as 4 pieces down the stairs without even realizing that he did.

“Uwuh scary... who puts stuff like that at stairs.” Ritsu’s now puzzled, he planned to go up the stairs but that can’t work now.. he has no choice but to keep walking around here, but the halls are like moving labyrinths, he never knows which way is right neither where he’d come from.

“Ah.. right..” Ritsu sparks an idea out of nowhere and goes through his pocket. A scalpel. He picked it up while inspecting the infirmary cabinet. It’s small but useful, pocket sized too, so it isn’t a big hassle.

He’ll just use the scalpel to cut the wires, then he’ll be able to pass through. And so he gets to work, cutting off the wires at each end. The wires are a little thicker than expected, yet very thin and sharp, so it took a while to take them all down.

“Ugh, never doing that again..” Ritsu struggles to take a breath but keeps moving. Carefully minding his steps from dripping blood pools and broken floors.

Ah. It seems someone fell victim to the piano wires. The body was dismantled and Ritsu would very much rather avoid it right now. It didn’t look like Mao, so he won’t care.

But... the uniform...

How could he avoid it when.. the uniform was a Yumenosaki one.

Ritsu stood away from the corpse, too disgusted to try touching it. Instead, he just squinted really hard to capture who it is.

A red tie. So first year..

The head and hairstyle was familiar.. the face itself was too. It isn’t someone he interacted with much. They performed together at one live or maybe two. If Hajime were still with him, he would surely break down crying.

It was the energetic little boy, Mitsuru Tenma... or at least his dead cut up body...

Poor thing must have run into the wires... he always loved dashing around, so to die like this, it’s even painful to Ritsu, who had barely ever talked to the kid.

“Cruel....Why did they have to die.. first years too... It’s so cruel.. so horrible...” Ritsu grieved for a while. The concept of death has never been such a big deal to him until entering this place.

This place is nothing but a grim reminder that if you’re caught victim to any of the school’s tricks then...

You die. You suffer.

Forever.

“I’m sorry.. But Haa-kun’s now with you...”

Ritsu looks down with sadness in his eyes. He’s thinking of how it will end if he or Mao die. Will Mao be sad? Of course he will. Ritsu got depressed from seeing a dead school mate that he’s never talked much to, so if a childhood friend vanishes... no, he can’t think of this. He’ll have to move if he wants to find Mao. Move. Move. Keep moving till his legs give out.

“Maa-kun..... I’ll come to save you soon...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y-Yeah...
> 
> Twitter: @DoesEmily  
> Go ahead and kill me


	4. Third Time’s The Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2Wink, accompanied by the Yumenosaki producer, Anzu, seek a way to find the entrance of the school.
> 
> With the help of a certain object, their goal can be accomplished, but that’s what they all say in the hellish world here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for breaking the record of three chapters in a row, got hit by a brick of unmotivation but it’s all good now *thumbs up emoji*

The creaking of their steps was discomforting.

“Yuta-kun, how are you feeling..?” Hinata asked his little twin brother with a caring expression, trying to ease the sense of terror they had gone through.

“Uh, y-yeah, I’m good, Aniki..” Yuta responded weakly.

“Hm.. I see.. how about you, Anzu-san?”

Anzu nodded her head and walked alongside the twins. Not long ago, they roamed through blood soaked walls that were filled with countless deceased school students, none of which resembled their friends at school... yet.

Anzu knew from the moment she woke up in the unsettling classroom with the members of 2wink.. that this place won’t be pleasing at the slightest.

“Yuta-kun, Anzu-san, there’s a classroom nearby that we could rest in for a little!” Hinata pointed at the room with the open door.

“Huuh? Aniki, what if something’s in there..? You saw that ghost thing earlier yourself!!” Yuta argued. He’s right, they shouldn’t take risks like this so lightly.

“Riiiight but it didn’t even see us so it’s fine!”

“Aniki it was literally messing around with a d-de..dead.. body..”

Yuta went quiet, reminded of the splatter fest of bodies from the halls, reminded that he’s going to be one of these bodies if he never escapes.

“Uh..” Anzu spoke up to break the tense atmosphere “You two shouldn’t bicker.. especially in a situation like this..”

Anzu’s correct, Hinata knows she is. He really does, but is walking around in circles gonna help either? They have no choice but to explore and find whatever clues they can to get out.

“Fine, if you think the classroom’s a bad choice, then where should we go?” Hinata requested, he doesn’t want to fight with Yuta right now, if he ends up running away from getting upset, then god knows what might happen to him.

“I... don’t know.. wouldn’t the most obvious choice be the front entrance of the school..?” Yuta guessed.

“I’d say you’re right but the stairs...” Hinata trailed off. They were all either broken or blocked off with sharp piano wire. Anzu tried to test how sharp it was and ended up cutting a tad of skin on her finger, which bled out a tiny bit but thankfully she had a handkerchief on her to stop it from bleeding too much. They WOULD try swerving past the wires but the risk was too high, one wrong move could end up decapitating them if they aren’t careful.

“What if we cut the wires? I’m sure there’s gotta be something sharp around..!” Yuta desperately suggested.

“Sharp..?” Suddenly an idea flickered in Anzu’s mind “Ah! Wouldn’t there be something sharp at the science lab?”

Right, they passed by it a few times, but the door was blocked off by a couple of bodies, which made the twins extremely uncomfortable, and made Anzu even much sicker than usual. But if they wanted to enter it, they have to deal with how disgusting it is, well.. they pretty much expected that they’re going to be touching the dead sooner or later.

“Ugh.. that place.. I bet it won’t be fun..” Yuta complained.

Of course it won’t, it’s a science lab, so they expect lots of unmentionables there. It will be bloody, mushy and most of all, sickening. They just know it.

“As much as it’ll suck, we gotta go, we’ll be one step closer to freedom!” Hinata extolled, his hopes in high spirits.

And so the three move in unison, trying to determine which way the lab is. With Anzu leading the way, the twins at least felt a tiny bit safer with their senpai ahead of them. Glad that they aren’t alone in this mess. Glad that they don’t have to suffer all alone with nothing but each other.

The number of corpses grows bigger along the way, hinting that they might be close to the laboratory, and the smell was just terrible, they could throw up at any moment.

“So... we have to move these..” Yuta pointed at the heap of bodies leaning on the door.

“Y-Yea.. look, just, don’t look at their faces and imagine them sleeping..” Hinata tried easing his nerves.

“That sounds worse ugh..” Yuta gruntled.

The twins and their producer pushed aside all thoughts of how nasty their work will be and got to the job. Hinata dragged the corpse of a female student, she looks like she died from a blunt object repeatedly hitting her head.. who would do such a cruel thing.. this place was beyond messed up.

After moving all the bodies blocking the door, Anzu volunteered to go in first, despite Hinata insisting he should, but once Anzu is set on something, she’s determined to keep at it.

Slowly sliding the door open, Anzu takes one anxious step inside and was surprised... as well as.. confused..?

“Anzu-san what’s wrong?” Yuta asks worriedly.

“N-Not in particular.. but it’s just weird how.. the lab has no bodies in here..” Anzu was relieved but also anxious of what might get them. There was an unbelievable amount of bodies outside, so Anzu wouldn’t be surprised if something attacked them right here.

“Let’s start looking, careful of holes on the floor!” Hinata warned then took off to investigate.

Nothing is currently threatening them, but the overwhelming anxiety might kill them if not a ghost. The emptiness gives them the chills and the eerie silence makes it feel like something will pop up.

As the twins investigate around the tables and desks, Anzu heads to the closet at the corner of the room. Looks like it could be a good hiding space, she wondered if spirits here would actually figure out if someone’s hiding in it, but she was sure they aren’t so dumb. Anzu took a few deep breathes, a bit hesitant of opening the doors, she held onto the handled and gave herself a nod. Here she goes.

She opens the door quickly, and suddenly, something latches onto her.

“A-AAAAAAHHH!!” A high pitched scream rung through the room, immediately alerting the Aoi twins causing them to rush to her while leaving everything in their hands.

“ANZU-SAN!!” The twins yelled out simultaneously. They halted as they got to her. Ah, how unlucky.

When Anzu opened the door, a corpse was apparently inside and happened to fall on Anzu upon opening it, she must be going on quite the unlucky streak recently.

“Aahh ahhhhh d-disgusting...!” Anzu struggled to push the body off, so the pair of brothers helped her out by pushing the corpse off and pulling her up.

“Uwah.. for a dead body to fall on you, that’s some baaad luck right there.” Hinata exaggerated.

“Aniki! Don’t be so insensitive!” Yuta scolded his elder brother.

“Eww.. It was still bloody... “ Anzu complained, her entire uniform was bloody, as well as her legs which were splattered with the gore.

The trio inspected the body and took a sigh of relief, it wasn’t anyone they know, but it left them very disgusted at the body’s situation... filled with holes that are leaking with blood. How does a body even end up like that...

“Anzu-san, wanna clean it off? I think there are restrooms nearby.” Hinata suggested.

“Eeeh? Won’t it be dangerous alone?” Yuta worriedly responded.

“Then we’ll go together, Anzu-san’s more important than a blocked road, so lets go!” Hinata held Yuta’s hand to reassure him, and both smiled to each other, with the two at each other’s sides, they can feel safer than ever.

The three walked out of the room, twins comforting Anzu as it looked like she was extremely bothered by the dripping blood everywhere on her body. It took all of Hinata’s strength to not make a dumb inside joke about it because he was sure it would’ve earned him a slap from both his little brother and Anzu herself. Maybe a little joke isn’t that funny in a situation like this.

“Hmm.. the restrooms.. they were across the corner of that hall, right?” Yuta pointed at the end of the hall.

“Then I’ll go ahead! It’ll be a minute only!” Anzu started running off, brushing off Hinata and Yuta’s calls.

“A-Anzu-san wait!!” Yuta tried to stop her.

“Ah it’s fine we’ll just let her take her time.” Hinata shrugged “I guess she wanted to go fast cuz girls take time ahaha~”

“eh.. that’s not funny, aniki.” Yuta rejected him.

“H-Huh?? Uwaaah my dear brother rejected meee~!” Hinata fake cried and then tackled Yuta.

“A-Anikiiii!! Stop it!” Yuta pushed him off and laughed. It’s been a while since they had a little moment together in peace, they hoped they’ll make it out alive together so they’d re-live a normal life as a family again. Hinata promises he’ll protect his little brother, while Yuta makes sure to trust him. 

☆ ———————————— ☆ 

“Restrooms..... p-probably nobody will take the chance to peek in...” Anzu convinced herself as she entered the females restroom.

Looking around, the toiletry area is completely inaccessible from due to the broken down floor, but the sinks where perfectly safe from that. She steps closer to the sink, taking off her shoes and socks to dry them a little, and tried opening the sinks available in front of her.

To no one’s surprise, the first one didn’t work. “Of course.. then I doubt these other two will..” But she didn’t give up. She tried turning the other one on, a bit rustier and harder to spin open than the previous, but to no avail, nothing.

“Third time’s the charm...” Anzu spins the handle, twisting it hard until it’s as far as can go. Nothing once more.

“Yeah.. thought so..” Anzu sighed loudly, obviously annoyed by it, why can’t she be lucky at least once.

Anzu starts taking off her blood soaked blazer as well as pink cardigan, and sets them aside to dry. Taking out the handkerchief from the blazer’s pocket, she starts cleaning her bloody legs, now the handkerchief’s getting too bloody. That was from her brother too...

_Tap_  
Tap  
Tap 

“Hm?” Droplet sounds...?

The sound echoed between the restroom’s wall, was someone in here?

“H-Hinata-kun? Yuta..kun..?” Anzu called, no response. “Is it you guys..?”

Anzu turned around to the door, it wasn’t open.. so no one could’ve entered...

“G-Guys.. If you’re playing a prank on me, it’s not funny..!!” Anzu was scared, her panic slowly rising.

No, she doesn’t want to risk her life like that, she’s risked her life on countless occasions, like overworking herself, but this is completely different, she has to get out as this room is giving her the worst kind of vibes as of now.

She wears her shoes and picks up her blazer, cardigan and socks, not wanting to waste time on dressing again, and rushes to the door. 

Locked.

“H-Huh?? It’s locked??”

She tries opening again. Not budging.

“No no no no please open, it was open a few minutes ago..!!”

Anzu throws her stuff on the floor, she’s freaking out now, this can’t be happening.

“Anzu-san?”

That voice! It’s the twins!

“YUTA-KUN!! HINATA-KUN!! THE DOOR’S STUCK!!” Anzu yelled out for the twins to hear.

“Stuck..?” Yuta asked and tested the door out, it really was. “Aniki look, it’s not even budging!”

“Uh oh.. did you accidentally slam it or something?” Hinata put a hand on his chin, trying to figure out how to open it.

“I-I don’t know!!” Anzu panicked.

_Tap_  
Tap  
Tap 

The tapping sound was continuous, or.. is it really tapping anymore? Anzu looked at the sinks and..

Oh. The third sink really was the charm that put the nail in the coffin. The sink was now dripping blood, filling it up slowly, leaving Anzu’s already panicked state much more terrified.

“A-Ah..?” Anzu’s so close to falling from the overwhelming situation.

“Big.. sis...”

Anzu quickly shifts around and notices three little children in the room, those kids.. they weren’t here before. And she was sure kids don’t glow that way..

Three kids. An eyeless girl, Tounge-less boy and... a headless girl.

“A-A-Aaah..” And the final nail hit “AAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

Anzu yelled in terror, causing the spirits to attack her immediately, with smiles across their faces. This can’t be happening no no no no NO NO NO!!

“ANZU-SAAAN!!” Hinata banged on the door, yelling out for Anzu.

“I-Is she okay?? What’s happening, Anzu-san!?” Yuta’s voiced hitched, like tears are going to come out.

She wasn’t. She’s not okay.

Her screams of terror continued as the spirits held her down, and one loomed over her with a pair of bloody scissors.

“NO NO NO!! PLEASE I BEG YOU PLEASE NO- AAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!!”

The child stabbed the scissor into her palm, pinning her down to the floor. Pulling out another scissor, it slammed it onto her other hand, earning another painful scream from the producer.

“ANZU-SAN PLEASE HANG IN THERE!!” Hinata slammed his shoulders, back, and even kicked on the door, but nothing happened, as if a mysterious force blocked it.

“I... wi..hh take... you..w... eye...” The spirit giggled playfully as it took the last scissors from the other children ghosts and smiled.

“P-Please.. I b-beg.. you...!!” Anzu kept pleading for her life, but to no avail, lost spirits like these never listen to words of mercy.

The spirit raised the scissors and slammed them directly onto Anzu’s left eye, an ear piercing scream erupting from Anzu.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH IT HURTS IT HUUURTS NOOO!!” Anzu screamed in agony, painful, it was so painful, it burned like hell, her hands have gone numb from the pain, but her eye is on fire from how much it hurts.

But that wasn’t the end. The spirit dug the scissor deeper, another painful scream rung through. Anzu wanted the suffering to end, she can’t take it anymore, why is this happening to her? From all the bad luck she encountered today, this was the worst of all.

“ANZUUUUUUU!!!!” Hinata on the other side was yelling with tears down his cheeks, he’s getting desperate, he has to help Anzu, he has to, he just has to or else he’s a failure to his producer.

Yuta on the other hand is breaking down in tears, he’s doing his best to get the door to open with his brother, but it just won’t move at all.

“P-Ple..ase....*hic* s-stop....” Anzu’s energy was running out, her whole body’s shivering, tears running down her eyes, well, bloody tears you could say for her left.

The spirits are laughing. It’s not funny. Stop.. Anzu thinks with her remaining strength to even think of anything but wanting all this suffering to end. Just kill her, do it, don’t let the pain continue, end it all already.

The spirit pulled the scissor out with all its might, most likely destroying every nerve that was remaining behind Anzu’s eye, not until it threw it back down on the eye, turning her socket into a bloodied up mess. Anzu can’t hear anything anymore, it’s only the white noise of her agonized screams.

Ah.. does one eye going blind effect the other? Probably not. The glow she’s seeing must be from a dream. Yeah. She has to be dreaming, none of this pain is real, she can go back to Yumenosaki with everyone peacefully, back to the place that changed her life, back to her friends, her cherished idols, and Su...

....

The stabbing stopped. The spirits are now silent. Were they not satisfied? If the eyeless one wanted her eye, why destroy it, how funny.. Anzu thought as she slipped into the glow of after-pain.

“Wh..at... a... h-horrible.. pro..ducer... I... am........h-ha..h”

Silence.

The only sound remaining was the crying and hysteric slamming on the door, begging to save Anzu. The spirits are bored now, their playtime was over, thus, they vanished, allowing the door to finally unlock.

Slipping over, Hinata grabs the handle and pushes the door with all his might, Yuta following in immediately. It was.. too late.

“Anzu... san...?” Yuta fell to his knees, this can’t be real.

“O-Oh...” Hinata stared intently at Anzu’s lifeless body. “Were we...”

Too late. It’s too late now.

Tears? Ah, they’re dripping from his face onto the floor. Their producer was dead. They were investigating together mere minutes ago, and now, she’s dead.

“Ani...ki...” Yuta’s voice broke into a loud sob, he can’t bear to witness this anymore. “ANIKIIII!! W-Why!?? Why’d she have to die???”

Hinata knelt down and hugged Yuta closely, feeling the other clench at his back. They sat there for seconds... minutes... probably longer now... they spent all of it crying and venting out their emotions, trying to feel like someone is at least there for them, if they’re going to have to watch everyone they love die, then they’re going to stick together, stick and make it out, nothing will ever separate them, they’re going.. to get out.

Together.

“Yuta-kun.. Let’s go.” Hinata’s voice was deep yet hoarse, it must have been all the crying.

“W-What about...” Yuta didn’t finish his sentence, he simply glanced at the lifeless producer.

“We can’t do much.. carrying her with us.. would be hard, we’ll leave her be...” Hinata stood up and walked over to the tainted pink cardigan, picking it up and giving it a look of pitiful sorrow.

“We’re sorry, Anzu-san.. we failed you as idols, eheh..” Hinata gave a fake yet weak smile as he laid the cardigan atop of Anzu’s face, he was sure a lady wouldn’t want people to look too much at her.

“Aniki.. *hic* ...” Yuta was close to crying again. “Please... promise me.. that you won’t.. d-die...”

“I won’t, don’t worry.” Hinata smiled and pulled his twin into a hug. “I’ll stay.. to protect you... my brother.”

Staying still for a minute was all it needed for Yuta to finally calm down. What’s done it done. There’s no undoing the past, they had to move along with it, carrying the guilt of failing to save Anzu on their backs as a reminder to never let their close ones die again.

It wasn’t even a promise anymore. 

It was an oath that’s a sin to break.

“Let’s go, Yuta-kun..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anzu’s bad luck is based on bad gacha scouting luck, yeah I’m going to hell.
> 
> Twitter: @DoesEmily  
> Send me anon hate


	5. Lost Within Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story of many encounters, many views and one danger. Another normal day in the hell dressed as a school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer than usual because I tried to write this one differently! Enjoy, also, Happy New Year! ♡

They’re walking around in circles now. Sena’s grabbing Leo’s wrist almost too tightly it hurts.

“S-Senaaa!!” Leo whined, pulling his wrist away from Sena’s deathly grip. “Ugh, Sena you big meanie!! My hands hurt!! My genius music will never be known if you break my hands!!”

“Real funny, Ou-sama.” Sena rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m not risking you running around here, death’s literally crawling in the halls.”

Sena was mad, way madder than usual. He was separated from Arashi and Tsukasa, and now Ritsu decided to up and leave as if he were skipping practice or something, god the nerves of that guy..

“Tch.. It’s so unlike me to worry..” Sena spoke to himself.

“Well yeah, cuz you’re a biiig meanie!!” Leo stuck his tongue out.

“Will you shut it??” He hit Leo upside the head and re-held his hand, he doesn’t want to get separated from anyone anymore. He’s going to find everyone and bring them all together. 

“GARRR~ Senaaa!! Quit ittt!!” Leo kept complaining, he had every right to, but if Sena loses Leo now, it’ll be the end for Knights.

“I’m TRYING to protect you so be quiet for a damn minute.”

“Sena...” Leo felt guilty, he knows Sena is just stressed out, but he’s acting bratty to loosen him up, in fact, Leo’s sick worried right now.

“Listen Ou-sama.. I don’t want to be an asshole in the midst of all this, but I’m... I’m trying to protect you... I already failed three people in Knights.. I don’t even know if they’re alive anymore...”

“Sena. We’ll find them.” Leo stopped Sena from talking and hugged him, he may not look it, but he’s the most terrified out of everyone in Knights. He’s terrified that if he or anyone dies, they won’t be able to get over the emotional scars. Knights won’t be the same anymore, there will be a gaping hole in the middle, where one member stood. If they’re aren’t careful, they’ll all end up dead. Leo was terrified of it all.

“Right...we will...” Sena hugged back, clenching on the smaller boy’s back. “As your knight.. I swear, I’ll find everyone and keep them safe.”

He swore to his king, as his loyal knight. 

☆ —————————— ☆ 

“NON!! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!!”

Mika was startled by the sudden yell of his unit leader and mentor, Shu. “O-Oshi-san??”

“MADEMOISELLE IS MISSING!!”

Ah, the doll. That’s true, she really was missing from the scene, but did Shu seriously only realize this now?

“U-Uh ... ‘ts sure a ... surprise that ya only noticed now, Oshi-san.” Mika rubbed his head.

“Gah-! Kagehira, you dare mock me like that?” Shu offendedly crosses his arms.

“N-Ngaah!! I wasn’ I swear!!” Mika put his hands up in defense, Shu’s sure feeling tenser than usual today. Mika wondered why. Oh, right, they were in a corpse littered school. Mika wasn’t entirely bothered, but Shu on the other hand was a complete mess, he was trying to hide his fear the best he could so Mika couldn’t notice, but Mika sure as hell saw through it.

They passed by the infirmary a few minutes ago, grabbed a bunch of weapons varied from scalpels to scissors and more. They found a little useful article about where they could be on the infirmary room’s desk, as well as a news article about a 40 year old murder case involving little children, far too gruesome for Mika or Shu to deal with. There was also something covered with sheets on one of the infirmary beds, although Shu preferred not to touch it or even look, not allowing Mika to come close to it either. Whatever it is, he was sure it was bad, Shu was likely protecting him from that, well, indirectly protecting him, since neither of them ever found out what it was.

After their little weaponry collecting trip, they headed out the halls, hoping to find an exit somewhere, or at least an answer to why they’re here in the first place.

“Oshi-san, wanna look for Madonee? Am sure she ain’t far..!” Mika offered.

“Non.” Shu refused “As much as I’d like to find her, I would rather have us stay alive.”

At least Shu’s aware of the current circumstances, Mika knows how his mentor is a bit over protective nowadays, so he’s glad that he could feel secure in the hands of his leader. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he can lower his guard and entirely rely on Shu, he’ll have to do his best to protect him too, as much a coward he is, when it comes to his loved ones, he’ll do anything to keep them safe.

“I see... what ‘r we gon’ do now?” Mika knows they don’t really have any other option than move forward, but asking wouldn’t hurt.

“What else do you think, Kagehira? We’re go-“

“Shh!”

“Ah, Kagehira what’s the meaning of th-“

“Oshi-san be quiet.”

Mika pulled the scalpel out from his pocket, raising it in caution. There was someone across the corner. A ghost? A person? It doesn’t matter, Mika won’t let them step close.

“Come out. I see ya.” Mika called out in a suspicious tone.

Out of the corner appear two boys, a somewhat stylish boy and a red head with a hoodie. Mika could’ve sworn he met them before, ah, right, these were Arashi’s friends.

“Tch.. so it was Itsuki and his crow.” The beautiful model revealed himself.

“Ah, if it isn’t Sena and Tsukinaga. What a fate it was for us to cross paths.” Shu laughed proudly, as if it was him who brought them together or something.

“Annoying as ever I see,” Sena rolled his eyes “anyways, kid with the weird eyes, you’re Naru-kun’s friend, right?”

“N-Naru-chan? Y-Yeah..?” Mika looked around for a while until he realized Arashi wasn’t here with them. “W-Where... ‘s Naru-chan...?”

“So you don’t know either... tch.. this is so annoying..” Sena clenched his fists with anger, he can’t help but wonder what Arashi would do in a situation like this. Would she cry? Would she stay strong? Would she lead Tsukasa and protect him?

“Itsukiii, as much as I haaate this, we should team up to find the rest of Knights!!” Leo proposed.

“I refuse.”

“Eehh?? O-Oshi-san??” Mika snapped. “Oshi-san we gotta find Naru-chan n’ her friends!!”

“And what would us, Valkyrie, benefit from assisting a rival unit?” Shu scoffed.

“Are you fucking stupid?” Sena yelled at Shu loudly, his voice would likely attract spirits if he kept at it. “You seriously think now’s the time to think about idol shit?? For god’s sake we’re gonna all die here if you keep up that bullshit, so shut up for a minute and-“

“Sena, stop it..” Leo pleaded softly and placed his hands on Sena’s shoulders, looking down as he hid his face from Sena.

“Ou-sama..?” Sena turned around at looked at Leo’s low face. “A-Are you.. crying?”

“A-Am not!! I’m just sweating” Leo sniffed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he struggled to wipe them away.

“Ou-sama, I’m... sor-“

“Cut it out, will ya?” Mika shattered the moment between the two, his voice giving bad vibes.

“Haaah? And who do you think yo-“

“I ain’t allowin’ ya to badmouth Oshi-san.” Mika pulls his scalpel into view again with an expression filled with malice. “Or would ya like me to cut ya up ‘stead?”

“H-Huh..?” Leo looked up, eyes widening with fear.

“The hell..? Are you serious..?” Sena steps back in caution, making sure Leo’s safe behind him. “You must be fucking insane..”

“Eheh~ I ain’t gon’ hurt ya tho~ Naru-chan’d be mad at me..” Mika laughed innocently until the tone of his voice went dark again. “But if I gotta kill ya... I ain’t hesitatin’....”

“Kagehira. Enough.” Shu commanded, he was getting slightly uncomfortable now, he thought Mika would never have the courage to hurt a fly, but for Mika to act like this was a completely new thing to Shu, he can’t help but wonder if it was this place’s atmospheric effects, or if Mika hit his head when they came here, hopefully the latter.

“Tch, fine, if you’re going to be a nuisance then we’ll search on our own.” Sena grumbled and pulled Leo’s hand. “Don’t come crying to us if you wound up dead.”

Sena walked away, hand in hand with Leo, mumbling little ‘so annoying..’ and other complaints till his voice nor shape no longer visible to Valkyrie.

“Oshi-san.. Sorry ‘bout that, I got a lil’ worked up..” Mika pouted like a lost kitten, and Shu can never scold him when he makes that cute and soft expression.

“I understand.” Shu patted Mika’s head, also trying to untangle the threads that were messy. “Kagehira... my beautiful doll, I cannot bear to see you tainted by this place and its horrid views, I... I will make sure you leave this place unharmed.”

“Oshi-san...” Mika smiled innocently and hugged Shu. “I’mma protect ya all I can..!!”

Shu smiled back, content with the little moment of peace they can still share together. Shu will absolutely protect Mika, he may have had plenty of broken, unfixable dolls, but Mika.. Mika is the one doll he cannot allow anyone to hurt.

Mika knows Shu is willing to protect him. He will too, he’ll go as far as he can to protect Shu. Even if it meant killing someone or even dying for him.

“I’ll do anythin’... for ya, Oshi-san..”

☆ ————————— ☆ 

“Narukami-senpai.. I apologize deeply but.. I must.. rest..” Tsukasa’s all worn out from running, he really should listen to Sena’s advice about eating too much sweets.

“Tsukasa-chan.. you must be tired.. it’s okay, let’s take a quick break~” Arashi smiled... well.. fake smiled could work better, perhaps.

After their separation from the rest of Knights, Arashi lost all motivation to keep going, she was afraid, very afraid and terrified. She has no idea what fate is awaiting her, she has no clue if she’ll die or survive out here. But she had to keep a strong face for her little junior, Tsukasa was surely terrified of everything happening, he’d want to rely on his seniors. Arashi wants to comfort Tsukasa, but she can’t, she’s not sure what to say, she can’t tell him that everything will be okay if she herself knows nothing is even close to okay right now. She wants to breakdown crying, but she’ll stay strong.. as hard it is to endure, she’ll try her best.

“Tsukasa-chan... how are you feeling..?” Arashi broke the silence between them to try lifting the stress off Tsukasa.

“I am feeling fine.. on the most part I guess.. I am still.. worried... about Leader and the others..” Tsukasa mumbled his words out with an exhausted tone.

“Ah, I’m sure Izumi-chan can handle taking care of Ou-sama, but Ritsu-chan... he might get a bit rash about his ‘Maa-kun’..”

“Oh, that’s right, he always talked about.. Maa-kun-senpai..? I think Ritsu-senpai’s too lazy to do anything though.”

“Ahaha~ he sure looks like it, doesn’t he?” Arashi nervously laughed. Ritsu is a lazy person in general, but when it comes to Mao, he’s very serious about things. Ritsu’s protective of his friends, but Mao is a whole different story, Arashi wouldn’t like to think of it but she was sure Ritsu could kill someone for Mao. She also knew after the little ghost chase a while back, Ritsu wouldn’t hold still, he’ll look for Mao, he won’t stop, he’ll definitely leave behind Sena and Leo to find his childhood friend. It was a given for sure.

“I.. I hope I’m not a bother, Narukami-senpai... but... can I tell you something?” Tsukasa stared at Arashi with cute big eyes. “I’m..... I’m so.. I’m so scared....”

“Tsukasa-chan..” Arashi smiled pitifully at Tsukasa, painfully watching him holding back the urge to cry. “Shhh.. it’s okay, darling, it’s all okay...I’m scared too.. but we need to stay strong..”

“Senpai... I’m-“ Tsukasa paused, suddenly jolting back with immense caution.

“Hm?” Arashi looked around, what’s wrong, she wondered.

“N-Narukami.. senpai..” Tsukasa shivered. “W-Was.. was.. the atmosphere.. always.. this thick..”

Arashi was confused, what’s happening to Tsukasa? Did the stress get to him? He looks so terrified, body shaking and eyes darting around in caution, as if something might pop up and he’s preparing.

“Tsukasa-chan, sweetie, what’s the matter?” Arashi held onto Tsukasa’s wrist, trying to calm him down.

“Ahh... AAHHH!!” Tsukasa started screaming, scaring away Arashi. What’s going on??”

“T-Tsukasa-chan..???”

Tsukasa fell on the floor, clenching his head and screaming in pain. “AAAAUGHH IT HURTS!!! HNNG...!! P-PLEASE..!!” He was now curled up into a ball, writhing in pain.

“TSUKASA-CHAN!!” Arashi panicked, she has no idea what’s going on anymore, why was Tsukasa on the floor yelling in agony? She kneeled down to stop Tsukasa’s hands that were gripping his hair, threatening to pull out the locks.

“AAAAHHHHGGH!!” Tsukasa slapped away Arashi’s hands and brought his own down to his throat, and began gripping tightly at it. He was now choking himself.

“NO!! TSUKASA-CHAN SNAP OUT OF IT!!” Arashi pulled at his wrists, but his hands were like death’s grip on his neck. She had to stop him somehow.

“N-NARU.. KAMI..S-SEN..” Tsukasa was on the verge of collapse, eyes already starting to roll back.

Arashi has no choice now, she has to do something or Tsukasa will be as good as dead. What would be a good way to prevent him from fully choking himself..? Suddenly a bright idea shone in her head, it’ll be painful, but better than death.

“Tsukasa-chan, I’m sorry!!” Clumsily standing up, she gathers all her courage and makes a mental note to properly apologize to him after what she’s about to do. “SORRY!!”

She kicks Tsukasa in the gut, easily the most common place to hit if she wants to stop someone from movement, knocking him out immediately. He stopped choking himself as his hand fell to the floor, he was fast asleep now.

“Ugh...” Arashi falls to the floor and takes deep breathes. She isn’t sure what just happened, Tsukasa started screaming and suffocating himself and she panicked, what other choice did she have? She hopes Tsukasa could forgive her later. But this isn’t the important part, what’s important is.. why? Why did he do that? He didn’t look like he was doing it willingly. Someone was controlling him maybe? A spirit? Can spirits do that too..? If so, then their safety has been extremely limited.

“This is the worst...” She sits, covering her face that was starting to pour with tears. “Why..? Why is this happening to me..”

Arashi gripped her knees and let the tears stain her school trousers, it doesn’t matter anymore, they’re gonna end up dead either way.. no.. she has to think positively, she can’t fall victim to this place so easily. She tries to gather happy thoughts, she began thinking of the things that she enjoys being around.

Cake.. yes, she definitely wants to order some after getting out, she won’t even stress about her diet like Sena, she’ll go all out and treat herself. What else made her happy... makeup.. cute clothes.. crepes were good too... Mika.. Mika? Right, Mika.. she wondered how he was doing, was he alive? Dead? No no, he’d never die, Arashi doesn’t want to even think of him dying.

“I need to find Mika-chan..” Arashi stands up, grabbing onto that tiny shred of motivation. “I hope Tsukasa-chan wakes up soon.. he’s surely a bit heavy to carry..” Arashi sighed, welp, she had no choice but to do it.

She grabs Tsukasa’s arm and waist, pulling him onto her back in a way he won’t fall. Yikes, he was too heavy, did he ignore Arashi and Sena’s advice about eating sweets again. Arashi shrugged it off for now and tried to think of it as Track and Field practice. She ponders if she’ll ever get to see her club mates at practice again, she prayed with all her willpower for them to be okay, and then took off, with absolutely no lead on where she’s even heading.

You gotta walk the straight line, she guessed.

☆ ————————————— ☆ 

“Oshi-san, are ya hungry..?” Mika queried.

“Non, what about you?” Shu responded, he wasn’t that big of an eater, and it isn’t like he would even have any appetite after seeing a thousand corpses on the way.

“Am fine, if yer feelin’ hungry, I got some candies, that can satisfy yer hunger for a lil’ while.” Mika pulled a piece of strawberry flavored candy to show his mentor, and then tugged it back into his pocket.

“Kagehira.. would you like to search for the Knights person you’re always around..?” Shu offered, he doesn’t want to make things anymore difficult than already is for Mika.

“Ya mean Naru-chan?” Mika pondered, he’s a bit worried about her now. “But it ain’t safe to run aroun’ like that..”

“I see, well, do not hesitate to ask if you’d like to search for them.” Shu concluded the conversation, not wanting to bring Mika’s mood into a sour one.

“Oshi-san...” Mika went quiet, perhaps it’s best they remain silent for the road.

Suddenly, a faint calling voice rung through the hall, it sounded familiar..

“Mitsuru-chiiin! Hajime-chiiiin!! Where are you??”

“That voice.. Nito..?” Shu began running towards the voice, making sure he’s pulling Mika along with him.

“U-Uwaah! Oshi-san??” Mika clumsily ran alongside Shu, trying to not trip on his own feet.

Around the corner, they run into none other than the leader of Ra*bits, Nazuna Nito, with him a slightly taller boy with no unique features in general.

“E-Eh?? Oshi- no, Itsuki??” Nazuna yelped in surprise, standing in front of the brunette boy with him. “Tomo-chin stay behind me!”

“Nii-chan, that’s Valkyrie..!” Tomoya hid while peeking his head from behind the third year’s shoulder.

Shu steps closer to the two Ra*bits members, pondering why there are only two of them. “Why are you backing away from me, dear Nito?”

“I don’t trust ya Itsuki!” Nazuna glared at his former mentor. “You’re... probably gonna sway me with your... manipulative compliments.....”

Manipulative? Did Nazuna seriously accuse him of that? Mika could never forgive that. If anything that Shu is, he is a kind leader who always pampered Nazuna and made him wear the best clothing made by none other than Shu Itsuki himself.. but for Nazuna to throw that away... actually.. ever since he left Valkyrie.. Shu has been severely wounded.. he.. he’ll.. he will wound back Nazuna, it’s only fair... in a place like this, no rules stop him.

“Nazuna-nii....did ya really have ‘ta leave...” Mika blankly looked at Nazuna.

“Eh..? Mika-chin?” Nazuna was confused, what did the second year mean..? 

“If ya stayed... we coulda.. we coulda been a family.. but.. for ya to throw ‘em memories away... it ain’t nothin’ but cruel!”

“Mika-chin... I want you to leave that in the past please...” Nazuna gently gave a sad smile. “Besides, I’ve got my own unit and amazing kids alongside me..!”

“Kids..” Shu interrupted. “Speaking of which, where are the other two lovely rabbit kids?”

“We got separated,” Tomoya answers, slightly uncomfortable from the mood. “Hajime apparently ran off to find Mitsuru too.. I hope they’re doing well..”

“Don’t worry Tomo-chin, we’ll find them surely!”

“Wouldn’ it be funny if yer lil’ kids ended up dead.” Mika giggled like a child.

Everyone went quiet. Nazuna was wide-eyed, not believing the words that Mika blurted out. Mika was still smiling, like it was the most normal thing in the world to say. 

“Kagehira you fool!” Shu scolded. “Do you ever think before you speak??”

“A traitor like Nazuna-nii shouldn’ be alive.”

Nazuna held in his gasp, trying to stay calm and composed. “M-Mika-chin... I understand your hatred towards me... but leave the other kids out of thi-“

“AAAH SHUT YER TRAP, TRAITOR!!” Mika interrupts Nazuna and pulls the scalpel out, suddenly charging at Nazuna.

“KAGEHIRA NO!!”

“MIKA-CHI-“

“NII-CHAN WATCH OUT!!” Tomoya appears out of nowhere to jump in front of Nazuna, protecting him from Mika. By the time Mika realized, he swerved his movement a little, hitting Tomoya’s arm with the sharp scalpel, and it was digging in quite painfully.

“GAAAH!!” Tomoya screamed in pain, backing away and tripping on the floor.

“TOMO-CHIIIN!!” Nazuna cried, he ran to Tomoya and held him tight, tears falling down his cheek as he watched the little boy shiver from the pain. “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM, MIKA-CHIN??”

“Tch..” Mika took the bloody scalpel back into his pocket. “he’s fine, a lil’ stab in ya arm ain’t nothin’...”

“KAGEHIRA!! What is the meaning of this..?? You... You tried harming dear Nito.. and see the outcome..?”

“If I hadn’ done it, Nazuna-nii would betray ya again..” Mika looked sadly at Shu, he doesn’t want Shu to hate him for it, he just doesn’t want anymore harm to be done.

“N-Nii.. chan.. I’ll be fine.. it hurts, but I can still move..” Tomoya struggled to get up, only to fall back onto Nazuna’s arms.

“Itsuki... take your crow and leave us alone.. please...” Nazuna was done with this place, he doesn’t want anymore pain, two of his teammates are already missing and Tomoya is deeply injured, anymore and he’ll go crazy.

“Nito... fine. I understand.. your duty as a leader must be painstaking.” Shu turned around and began walking away, Mika following right behind. “Ah, but if you ever are in need of guidance, I shall be awaiting your return.. as my precious doll.”

And now, they were off. That Mentor really has a problem, and his crow.. his crow had become an even more dangerous than usual obstacle, he’ll have to find the rest of Ra*bits before they get to them. He prays they’re hanging on..

“Tomo-chin, you may be taller than me but I’ll carry you if it hurts too much..”

“Ah, no I’m.. okay, just, probably a little tipsy.. Can I lean on your shoulder..?”

“Mhm! Here, I’ll help!”

Nazuna held Tomoya’s arm around his shoulder and held his waist to keep him balanced, it’ll be a hassle, but better than staying here.

“Let’s find everyone, Tomo-chin.”

☆ ————————— ☆ 

“Sena..”

The empty classroom was the perfect place for the king and his knight to rest. Both of them sitting in the corner of the room, beneath a window.. sitting peacefully like nothing is happening outside.

“Leo-kun... Do you think we’ll get out..?” Sena held tightly onto Leo’s hand.

“We will.. We just graduated, so I’ll be mad if I don’t see Knights grow after we leave!” Leo puffed his face.

“Ahaha.. That’s right.. Naru-kun’s the new leader..”

“Naru would be a cool queen! I’m mostly excited to see the newbie lead Knights after Rittsu and Naru graduate!” Leo leaned onto Sena’s shoulder, comforting himself.

“Kasa-kun’s a brat, but he’d be a good leader.” Sena leaned back on Leo as well. “Hey, Leo-kun, what will you do now that we graduated?”

“Hmm probably be the best composer to ever live on this Earth! Wahahaha~!” Leo laughed with a carefree attitude.

“Hmm.. I might go back to modeling, although it will be lonely without my cute little Yuu-kun~” Sena hummed his name, thinking about how he’s doing right now. He really misses him. Makoto has wonderful friends with him, so they can always protect him, but he can’t help worrying about him.

“Knowing Sena, you won’t rest till you see that guy everyday after work!” Leo joked.

“Huuuh~? Well, it’s lonely at the agency without him, so I’ll definitely support him everyday after school, I wouldn’t be a good onii-chan if not~”

“Ahaha~ Sena’s cute when he talks about that Yuu-kun!” Leo snuggles up closer to Sena. “I like your happy face..!”

“A-Ah.. S-Shut it!” Sena blushes at turns away dismissively, still not used to soft compliments.

“Sena... If we get out.. I’m gonna write a song for us... all of us Knights.. okay?” Leo looked up, eyes serious.

“Leo-kun... Okay, and I’ll write the lyrics for you, we’ll have it as a gift for the Knights members who’ll take over from us..” Sena smiled, the peaceful expression also soothing Leo.

But the peace and happiness can’t stay too long, they need to move out, keep looking for Arashi, Tsukasa and the runaway Ritsu... and hopefully on the way, they can run into Trickstar to relieve Sena’s worries about Makoto.

Sena stood up, pulling Leo off the floor by grabbing his hand, and told him they’re moving out again. They don’t want to, but they have no choice in the matter.

“Let’s bring back Knights... Ou-sama.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, I don’t really ship IzuLeo romantically I dunno why, but writing them is fun so here ya go (im more an izumako fan, thanks for the content of the new event happyele but we’re dying from rank)
> 
> Anyways shipping will be kept at minimum but lighthearted scenes are a must to be included, or else it’ll be too depressing.
> 
> Twitter: @DoesEmily  
> DM me photos of kanata’s face pleas


	6. Colors of Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Switch discover the deep secret of this place.. the secret that decides what one’s fate shall be. Or at least that’s what Natsume supposes it does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for not updating in a million years, I ended up getting busy with school and never got around the completing the chapter. Please enjoy this chapter ;)

“Be quiet senPAI.”

“B-But Natsume-kun! Please wait up!!”

The blood splattered walls were like a painting to Natsume, it was vividly beautiful yet it was screaming with anguish. It fit to Natsume’s tastes, but the awfully realistic scene was a tad too much, yet he remained calm as the two other Switch members followed behind.

“Shishou~? What will we be doing?” Sora’s innocent eyes were filled with worry.

“Sora, don’t woRRY.” Natsume smiled at Sora, making sure he sounds convincing enough. “We’ll be safe SOON.”

Ah, that doesn’t look good. They’re passing by another bloodier than usual wall.. are these organs too? How disgusting, as expected of this place.

“Oh MY.. how tattered this one IS.” Natsume stepped closer to inspect the mess of what used to be human.

“Hm? What’s that Natsu- Ah.. AHHHHHh!!?” Tsumugi screamed and scrambled around to keep Sora away.

“Eh? What’s wrong, Senpai~? Your color is very... sad...” Sora backed away from Tsumugi’s hands that were trying to cover Sora’s eyes.

“S-S-Sora-kun it’s best you don’t look!!” Tsumugi stuttered, still trying to hold Sora back. “Sora-kuuuun~!! Please! Listen to your senpaaai~!!”

Sora kept avoiding Tsumugi’s grip until suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, raising a hand over his forehead, as if he were pained.. was he?

“Shishou.. Sora’s head.. hurts..” Sora trembled, his head felt like it was splitting open with pain.

“Hm? That’s ODD...” Natsume stood up from his position atop the bloody pile and walked over to Sora to comfort him, hand running through Sora’s fluffy hair ruffles.

“Sora-kun..? Could it be you’re having a rush of auras or something..?” Tsumugi tried to find the right words to phrase it in a way the first year could understand.

“Ah, I’m surprised SENPAI could say something SMART for once.” Natsume complimented? Tsumugi couldn’t tell if it was sarcasm but still took the compliment in with a happy smile. “Hm, Sora.. what colors can you SEE?”

“Sora can see... angry.. and sad.. colors.. lots of them... Sora can’t... focus...” Sora lightheadedly stumbled on his steps and almost fell if Tsumugi didn’t rush to hold him.

“N-Natsume-kun, he should rest, I’ll carry him..!” Tsumugi pulled Sora up into his embrace, carrying him in a way he could be safe in his arms. “Please rest Sora-kun, it must be so pressuring...”

“S-Sorry.. senpai..” Sora gripped on Tsumugi’s back, feeling guilty of worrying his master and upperclassman.

“It’s okay, Sora-kun, your health always comes first~” Tsumugi gave him a warm smile to reassure him.

“Sora, it’ll be over SOON, hold on till THEN..” Natsume walked to Tsumugi so he can pet Sora’s head, Tsumugi was happy that Natsume was being responsible, it’s for the best, after all Tsumugi’s graduating and won’t be able to see them much.. but he’ll definitely support Switch, it was the unit he, Natsume and Sora built together, he wants to see it shine like a star in the sky, that way.. he could finally be free of the sins he committed for the sake of Eichi

“SenPAI.”

“E-Eh? What is it, Natsume-kun?”

“What was the charm’s NAME.”

“Uh, why does if matter? Ah, do you think it was a bad luck charm? Ahahah.. who would’ve thought my graduation day would be unluc-“

“This charm. Is it the SACHIKO charm..?” Natsume looked Tsumugi dead in the eyes, causing a shiver to run through his spine.

“Y-Y-Yes!” Tsumugi stuttered, afraid of how Natsume went serious all of a sudden.

“Why of COURSE it had to be YOU who got us into THIS.” Natsume clicked his tongue and went back to the mess of what used to be alive on the walls and floor. “This CHARM... if performed wrong, we will ALL get CURSED..”

“Ah don’t you already do that to me?” 

“Shut UP for a minute.” Natsume glared at him. “ANYWAY. I believe we should BE in.. Heavenly Host Elementary...”

“An elementary school? B-But we were.. at Yumenksaki..?”

“That’s not ALL.. Sora’s reason for COLLAPSE is connected..” Natsume got up and looked down with hopelessness gathering in his eyes. “I think... we will NOT get out..”

Tsumugi’s eyes widened in fear. That.. can’t be true.. can it? They had to be able to escape somehow. “What do you mean?? Can’t we just find the entrance and get out??”

“Are you STUPID? This isn’t a normal place you KNOW. We’re in a whole separate world. Or perhaps DIMENSION if it sounds easier.”

“H-Huh..? So.. the entrance..?”

“It will most likely LEAD to nowhere.” Natsume looked down at the splash of organs. “And if we try to have HOPE, we’ll just turn to THIS.”

Tsumugi couldn’t accept this. He was the type to lose hope fast, but he can’t accept the fact that he’ll be stuck here till death.. no.. he’s not important at all, it’s.. his underclassmen... and classmates.. and everyone else.. they’ll all.. die? 

“No way... No.. Natsume-kun.. that’s not true...” Tsumugi’s eyes looked down at his legs, they were trembling.

“Shishou...” Sora slightly shifted in Tsumugi’s arms. “Why are there.. so many.. colors..”

“Sora... I do not want to PRESSURE you.. but how many colors do you SEE?” Natsume questioned, a look of guilt hinting in his eyes, he doesn’t want to hurt his little pupil so much.

“There’s.. alot.. they’re all pained colors.. I can’t.. count.. them all..” Sora held tightly on Tsumugi’s chest, the despairing auras weakening his state. “They’re so sad.. and hurt.. and feel pain.. and some.. are angry... Shishou.. Sora’s scared..”

The last sentence felt like a knife to the heart, it hurt to see the cute little Sora feel pained and scared. “Sora, I...” Natsume didn’t know what to say, he himself feels like he should give up, so telling Sora all of that might worsen his state.. what should he do.. Natsume never found himself blocked behind an obstacle like this before. “I... well..I–“

“Sora-kun, let’s find a way out all together~ Natsume-kun is also a bit afraid, but you’ve already grown up enough to be a leaning shoulder for him, just as he had been for you~” Tsumugi tried to gather every single positive node in him to form the encouragement that the two younger boys could move on, if they died here, Tsumugi would never forgive himself.

“Senpai...” Sora’s blue big eyes were beautifully shining in the already darkened halls, Tsumugi has to make sure that both he and Natsume make it out of here, even if it means sacrificing himself.

“...” Natsume didn’t want to reply, he feels ashamed. He feels utter shame that the senpai he hates with a passion, that usually suicidal man, has said much more encouraging words than he has ever said. It was frustrating, but Tsumugi was right, as much as he hates admitting it.

“Tch.. I see. Well, I might as WELL explain the SITUATION..” Natsume sighed deeply and starting connecting all the pieces he’s encountered this far. “ As you can SEE... We’re in an abandoned school with obvious spirits ROAMING around..”

“Ah yeah that’s true, ahaha I would’ve been a goner of you hadn’t told me to stay away from it~” Tsumugi laughs ever so carefreely, to which Natsume rolls his eyes.

The red head’s speech starts sounding like an enchanting spell, no longer ending his sentences weirdly, rather his speech sounds melodic yet creepy. Less a spell, more a curse.

“To get here.. we performed the Sachiko Ever After Charm.. thanks to SENPAI over here for giving it to us. Anyways.. the charm was probably done wrong by someone, after all, a ritual can end in a curse if fulfilled wrongly.”

“So.. someone might have messed up the words of the ritual?” Tsumugi asked.

“Most likely. When we performed, we all chanted the phrase ‘Sachiko, we beg of you.’ once for each of us, correct?”

Tsumugi just nodded along because he isn’t sure what it’s leading up to. “Those were the instructions written along the charm..”

“Hm? They were..?” Natsume looked confused. “I cannot seem to recall as I haven’t done much RESEARCH on it.. but these instructions... I have a small doubt that they are CORRECT..”

Natsume’s speech reverted back to his normal one, but it still lingers of the harmonious tone. It was rare to see the young magician so worked up and worried like that, almost as if his entire mischievously taunting personality was thrown out the window. Tsumugi grew worried once more, did he do something wrong again? Was it really the charm? Did it curse them into this hell?

“Natsume-kun... I know you’re in deep thought but.. this charm is the problem.. right?”

“I believe SO.”

“Then it can be reverted somehow..” Tsumugi thought of the possible ways to undo the curse, a few ideas popping here and there but not good enough, until he remembered how Sora was in pain earlier and decided to try finding a link to it.

“Ah!! What if Sora-kun’s pain is related to this?” Tsumugi inquired.

“I already FOUND a connecTION.” Natsume was as fast as ever, of course, he was definitely one of the 5 genius oddballs. “I believe.. These COLORS are coming from.. the SPIRITS..”

“You mean the ones wandering around?” Tsumugi tilted his head questioningly.

“Yes and NO.” Natsume confusingly answered. “It IS from these spirits.. but there is MORE.. there are more spirits. These are most likely the spirits of the VICTIMS of this world.”

“Victims..? Like.. other people? Like us?” Tsumugi’s sweat was rolling down his forehead, he was getting anxious, at least more anxious than his usual self.

“...Y-Yes..” Natsume struggled to get that word out. He was scared, he acts cool all the time but now.. he was terrified of death. “This only leads to ONE thing.. death here.. is ETERNAL.”

Eternal? Huh? What does that mean? Tsumugi’s denseness was annoying to Natsume, but maybe just this once, it was preferable. But Tsumugi was able to arrive at a conclusion at the end. Death is eternal, meaning.. their souls are never free. These colors that Sora saw were the anguished screams of everyone’s end. The end that has no end, if it makes sense to Tsumugi.

“So if we die...” Tsumugi trailed off, he hated thinking about it.

“YES. Our souls will endure the same pain we felt as we DIE.” The redhead shook his head. “NO, it will be worse perhaps.”

Ah that’s no good. Not at all good. “We.. can’t die then... I... I won’t let it happen to us... Switch.. will remain together... a big family.. with all of alive and happy..!” Tsumugi forced the words out, despite his despaired state.

“... I... I hope SO.”

“Ah, right, back to what I asked! It’s.. possible to revert this charm.. right?”

“I am not entirely SURE. Every curse has a CURE, so this must have one AS WELL.” Natsume walked turned his back to Tsumugi, set on moving on. “It will not be EASY. It will be PAINFUL. We might die.....But....Senpai.. I’m PUNCHING you if you die...”

“Ah..” Tsumugi reveled his surprise, Natsume’s harsh as usual but these words.. they held sympathy and care, he really cared about his senpai it seems. Tsumugi won’t let him down now. “Ehehe~ I’ll try~”

Tsumugi giggled cheerfully as Natsume scoffed and turned his head away, walking off while the blue bird scrambled to hurry behind him with the first year in his arms. As they walked, there were boisterous noises suddenly ringing throughout the halls. Natsume immediately takes a defensive stance, while Tsumugi instinctively hugs Sora to his chest in protection.

The noise was ... human. Natsume sighed in relief, if it were a spirit, things would have gotten a bit tricky, but he remained in a defensive stare nonetheless. The red head eyes Tsumugi, trying to tell him to remain quiet; to which Tsumugi understood.

“Show yourSELF, or rather you’d prefer a CURSE?” Natsume threatened, as the loud noises grew louder.. but more confused.

“Eh~? Who’s tha- UWAH NOT HIM!!” The loud energetic voice was finally familiar to Natsume, how could he ever be careful of his favorite teasing toy?

“Baru-KUN?”

Out the corner came the loud revolutionary unit Trickstar, looking more troubled than usual... did it always have three members though?

“Natsume?? Why are you here?? Ah blue-senpai is there too! And the yellow kid~? Is he okay??” Subaru ran to check on the unconscious Sora, completely ignoring Natsume, to which the latter was not in the mood to threaten him for that right now.

“Baru-kun.. where is Hokkee-kun..? The other TWO are here but not HIM.”

The three Trickstar members’ faces turned into an anxious mess, looking completely despaired. “Hidaka-kun..” Makoto started “We.. lost him somewhere.. h-he isn’t dead probably but we c-can’t find him..”

“ProBABLY?” That is not something you say if you are unsure, Natsume thought to himself. “Jeez. You FOOLS are a mess already.”

“Oi, Sakasaki.” Mao spoke up “Are we the first people you encountered?”

“Other than SWITCH, yes you ARE.”

“Then Ritchan must be here as well...”

“You mean Rei-nii-san’s LITTLE brother?”

“Ah, sorry I was thinking out loud, b-but yeah.. Sakuma-senpai’s brother..” Mao looked down at his feet with sadness, his soul trembling with worry for his childhood friend. Ritsu wasn’t always a lazy brat though, Mao knows that the vampire is actually stronger and much more active than he looks. Despite that all, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“ANYways, you aren’t going to STAND around doing nothing ARE you?” Natsume scolded his three classmates “Hokkee-kun might be in TROUBLE, what if he DIES?”

“D-D-Die?” Makoto stuttered, expression darkening from the fear he felt. “Hidaka-kun... We need t-to.. find him..”

“U-Uhm..” Tsumugi interrupted “mind if I ask how you ended up separated?”

Suddenly Makoto started trembling at those words, they probably brought back some traumatic moment. “H-Hidaka-kun.. ahh.. aaahh... W-W-We couldn’t.. we couldn’t save h-him.. it’s.. all.. m-my... f-fau.. AHHHH I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY!!!” Makoto broke down and fell to the ground repeating his apology over and over again.

“M-Makoto! Calm down!!” Mao knelt beside him and hugged him to calm the poor blonde down a little. “Don’t worry, Makoto, we didn’t see him die, so I’m sure he got away.. We’ll find him..”

“Ahh, I’m sorry!! I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place!!” Tsumugi looked apologetically at the shivering model, and he felt like all he has been inducing today was pain.. maybe today’s charm wasn’t a good one.

“Tch.. we haven’t gotten the SLIGHTEST idea what you are TALKING about that way.” Natsume got pissed off, not caring about the situation at all.

“Natsume! Ukki’s having a hard time right now!!” Subaru snapped at the red head. “Listen, we got caught up in some trap or something and some big thing chased us, Ukki... thinks it’s his fault because he attracted the thing with his scream..”

“OH my what a rookie MISTAKE~” Natsume giggled “And WHAT of Hokkee-kun? Perhaps he has GOTTEN caught?”

“No!! Hokke... he got hit and told us to run... but.. we didn’t see him die... I.. I know he’s alive though!!” Subaru’s determination reeked out, to Natsume’s disgust. “The thing.. it had this giant sledge hammer and it looked like a walking corpse... it was.. big and.. terrifying..”

“OH? Not a SPIRIT?”

“Ah some child was there too but it was just standing there... Hokke said we better not interact with it..” Subaru grimly reminisced as he remembered how horrifying this entire event was.

“WeiRD.” Natsume tapped his chin, deep in thought. A giant figure with the looks of a corpse and a little kid, it would be unusual normally, but this place showed the impossible as possible, and Natsume is pretty much not surprised from all of it anymore. “I suppose we HAVE no choice but to LOOK for Hokkee-kun.”

“Natsume..!” Subaru ran and leaped into Natsume to hug him. “Thank you thank youu!!”

“E-Eh??!” Natsume’s face flushed red from the sudden contact “G-GET OFF!!”

“Ahahaha~☆ You’re usually weird but I love you for this~!!” Subaru tightened the hug to Natsume’s annoyance (although he actually liked it)

“E-EEEH?? W-Wait what DID you just CALL ME??” Natsume struggled to push away the clingy boy off him, gesturing to Tsumugi to save him only to see him smiling and laughing along, ah, he’s going to punish him for that.

“Come on guys, let the lovely-dovey action get postponed for later, we gotta find Hokuto.” Mao grumbled and pulled Subaru away from the jacket’s hood.

“U-Uhm, do you all know exactly where you’ve been separated?” Tsumugi asked to confirm where they’ll head next.

“Ah, it was the floor b-beneath!” Makoto replied. “We tried to take a way that could be hard for such a big thing to cross, so we took the risky broken hallway..”

“Hm that is CLEVER. But.. what happened to the CHILD with it?”

“Child...?” Makoto looked puzzled. “What of it though..?”

“You mean.. you didn’t pay ATTENTION...?” Natsume felt his sweat drop like bullets when he sensed a dread that’s soon to come.

“Ahhgh..” Sora shuffled in his senpai’s arms and began clenching his head in pain. “Ghh.. Gaaah..! It hurts..!! S-Sora’s.. head..!!”

“Sora-kun!!” Tsumugi pulled him close to see what’s wrong. “Are you okay, please hang on!!”

“S-Something... Aura... is... D-Danger...” Sora mumbled between staggering breathes.

“Eh..?”

Natsume’s quick reflexes quickly snapped into action as soon as Sora said that. “RUN AND SEPARATE!” Natsume yelled and pulled Tsumugi’s shoulder so he could run with him.

This feeling of dread. It’s here. The large figure, the one that might have taken the life of a dear friend. And the child. It was there as well.

“Aah.. R-Ru.. RUN GUYS!!” Mao screamed and pulled along the two members of his unit, he was smaller than them but strong enough to manage supporting both to run, as Makoto was stunned, while Subaru... he was mad. Furious. Mao needs to keep his grip tight so that he won’t do anything stupid.

The figure started moving slowly until the little child pointed at the direction of the boys, was that a command of some sort, because as soon as the child did that, the giant man-like, bloody eyed corpse with the giant hammer started running towards them.

“SHIT RUN FASTER!” 

“SARI! WE GOTTA FIND HOKKE, THEY HAVE HIM I KNOW THEY DO!!”

Was Subaru insane? There’s no way Hokuto survived after this thing attacked them, they’re better off giving up than finding his dead body while holding hope in their hands. But he knows how Subaru feels, he doesn’t want to accept Hokke’s death... but a hit with a hammer like that could easily end in blood loss or brain damage. There was no hope for him.

“OI SAKASAKI! WHERE DO WE GO?!” Mao yelled out to the magician who was somehow way further than them, and surprisingly the 3rd year managing to keep up.

“SPLIT! It would be HARDER to find US!” Natsume replied from the distance and waved as he took a different route with his unit. Splitting up is the worst possible solution that they could come up with, but.. it’s Natsume.. he’s one of the genius oddballs, so he was sure it would be the right thing to do... Hopefully?

“Right at the corner!” Mao pointed at the split in the middle of the hall “SUBARU! MAKOTO! You two go there, I’ll head this way!”

“E-Ehh?? W-W-What about you!?” Makoto stuttered, running out of breath.

“JUST GO! I’ll... I’ll look for Hokuto!” Mao bid the two a final farewell, and took off to his own way, not looking back at all. It’s fine, it’s all going to be okay, he’s... he’s... he’s scared. He can’t stop shaking, he’s all alone, everyone is going to die and he’s going to break isn’t he..? He doesn’t want any of this pain anymore, he just wants to go back to see his friends.. his classmates, club mates, council members... Ritsu...... His precious childhood friend... 

“Gah!!” The redhead tripped on the hard floor, pain throbbing through his body. He stayed there for a good minute, giving up completely. What’s the point anymore, his friends are probably slowly getting killed by whatever the hell that man is, and also his classmates, maybe even the student council is down to zero. Ritsu... he’s... still alive.. right?

“Ritchan...” 

His only hope... is Ritsu.. that’s right.. without Ritsu, he can’t go on, he has to find him no matter what. “Hah.. how do I always get involved in trouble.. Ritchan.. I’m coming...!”

☆ —————————— ☆ 

The end of the hall had them cornered completely, nothing in front of them but an invitation to death.

“AKEHOSHI-KUUUN!!”

“S-Stay back, Ukki!!”

The giant figure ended up chasing them instead, what terrible luck, but it was a chance for Subaru to try getting out the answer he wants.

“S-STOP! I have a q-question!!” He gestured to the man, surprisingly stopping in his tracks to listen?

“Akehoshi-kun, p-please!! Don’t!!”

“Tell me.... where is Hokke? Why did you... do this to Hokke?”

...  
......  
No answer.  
But Subaru will not give up this quickly. But all this determination.. was it worth it? Was it worth what’s to come for them next?

“H-Hey..! Listen to me! I asked you.. WHERE IS HOKK–“

...

Unable to continue, he was hit on the shoulder by the giant sledgehammer, causing him to fall to the ground with a loud thud, and now his arm hurts... or does it...? Did it get dislocated... but it was quite worse..

“A-Ah..?” Subaru shockingly looked at his right arm, entire body shaking at the sight. His shoulder surely wasn’t the only thing dislocated, but his entire arm was.. more accurately.. completely torn off. He looked shakily behind him and saw it right there. Oh. That’s not good.

“Ahha.. Aaaah... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHGGHH!!!” Subaru writhed in pain, clenching the still attached part of his shoulder, blood was spurring out fast, pooling around his shaking body, as it mixed in with his tears.

Makoto at the back couldn’t do anything but watch in shock, eyes opening wider than ever, his body was paralyzed with fear, he couldn’t even think anymore.

“Ehehe~ are you having fun~?” A little girl spoke up, her dress fluttered as she walked, dyed in red.

Subaru couldn’t answer, his screams were the only audible noises in the room, and the little girl looked like she was slowly getting annoyed from all the sound.

“Tch.. shut that thing up, it’s loud.” She commanded, and almost no hesitation was taken up from the man as he raised his hammer.

“AAAAAHHH!! STOP NO NO NO NO!!!!” Makoto snapped out of his paralyzed state and tried to stand, but his legs failed him, as he was a tad too late. 

**THUD.**

Splatters of blood flew everywhere, the hammer, the man himself, the floors, the walls, and even Makoto. Subaru’s previously intact body was now missing a limb... and perhaps his head too.

....  
.......  
............

 

What?

“A-Ake...Hoshi......?”

...........

This... can’t be happening. It can’f be, there’s no way this is real, it was all a set up and nothing more, this isn’t real at all, right?

“Aah... this.. this is j-just.. a bad dream... ahaha.. right..?”

The little girl gently smiled at Makoto, as if reassuring him that it really was all just a little stage act. “Yes~ a dream~” she giggled. “A DREAM YOU WILL NEVER WAKE UP FROM.”

Oh.

“Haah.... haaah... ahhh....” Makoto’s heavy breathing was a stressful noise to himself, but it’s distracting him from looking at his deceased friend’s body. The sight was truly unbearable, and to witness it happening directly in front of his eyes was the final cord to snap.

“Aaah..... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” The blonde finally let out the painful screams of grief, he sobbed grossly, tears wiping away the bloodstains from Subaru’s body. He’s gone. And the little girl is laughing about it. Her voice distorted and merciless, as if she’s actually enjoying Makoto’s suffering.

“KYAHAHA~!! Yes! Scream more! Ehehe~ You entertain me well! I’ll give you a little more time to live~ go! Go and scream out this despaiiir!!”

She was so insane, but Makoto couldn’t care less anymore, he was crying while hugging Subaru’s detached arm, probably thinking he can heal him or something of the sort. This was a really disgusting seating for him, sobbing in a pool of blood while holding a corpse’s limb, how pathetic.

“SUBARU!! SUBARU I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY PLEASE!! COME BACKKKK!!” 

“Kyaha~ let’s find more people to play with~” the girl in the red dress walked away and disappeared, the figure following after... why? Why won’t they kill him too? Why would they make it unfair like this? How come Subaru dies but Makoto gets to be well and alive?? Why!!?

“S-Subaru.... *sniff* I’m... sorry!! I’m so sorry..!!” The model cried harder, clinging tightly to the remains of his best friend. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.. I’m s-sorry.... I’m so... *hic* sorry...”

Makoto was broken. The friend he cherished and got support from daily.. lightened the mood in tense situations together.. did everything... together.. he was gone. And it was all his fault. All his fault for being weak.. for being scared.. for not stopping Subaru, even for separating his teammates, everything was his fault....

“Akehoshi-kun....” he reverted to using formal language and wiped the still dripping tears off his face from behind his glasses. “It’s.... all my fault again.. everything.. it’s all me.... I’m sorry..! I couldn’t move to defend you... I’m so weak... it’s all my fault... Trickstar never deserved this.. I never deserved this. I’m.... sorry..!”

No... Subaru wouldn’t like this, he wouldn’t accept Makoto’s self-loathe like this.. he always stayed positive and held in his pain for the sake of others... it would be unfair to give up like this... Makoto had to find his motivation to move on somewhere. Who was the cause of the direct death..

The little girl in the red dress.

That girl.. he can never forgive her.. didn’t she say she’s going to find more people..? Mao! He was still alone.... then this is Makoto’s moment to payback everything.

“I’ll.... I’ll find Hidaka-kun.... and Isara-kun... on my own.. for.. you..”

Apologies don’t work. The dead can never be brought back. Makoto knows. That’s why... if anyone else ends up dead.. he might as well kill himself too... but he’ll keep holding this hope that Subaru left behind for him, he’ll stay strong, he’ll endure the pain, he’ll find his unit mates and get out of this hellhole... and then... maybe that part is better to think about with others...

“Isara-kun... I’m sorry... I have to bring this bad news with me....”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aw man my hand slipped again oops. This chapter was fun cuz writing Tsumugi and Natsume is interesting lol
> 
> Twitter: @doesemily
> 
> I’m holding an art raffle on my Twitter to celebrate 400+ followers! Rt+follow this post to enter! Ends March 7th!
> 
> https://twitter.com/doesemily/status/957363097500635136


	7. Bloody Facade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuseitai are the heroes of justice, that's what the motto always was, Chiaki hoped that the heroes could win, that's what happens on TV right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi im back with more trash, I hope the writing isn't sloppy this chapter, I finally got to write one of my favorite units! Enjoy this chapter, and good luck on the new Ryuseitai/2Wink event in JP Enstars!

“Puka~ Puka~”

“Shinkai-senpaaai! P-Please don’t play around like that!” Tetora called out to the bubbly boy playing with the tiny keychain that looks like a small puffer fish.

“Hm~? Why ‘not’~? It is sad ‘here’ so I am trying to make the ‘fish’ happy instead.”

“Huh? That doesn’t make sense, aahh but that doesn’t matter!!” Tetora grabbed Kanata’s hand and pulled him along. “Captain and the others are in the other class right now, we should tell them we found nothing..”

The two Ryuseitai members walked out of the room with unease throbbing in their hearts. They were lucky to end up in the same place as a unit, but unlucky that this place is actually a corpses grinder... well, not really, but if one were to see the state of these corpses up close, you’d definitely think it went through the grinder. The sight was enough to make Shinobu faint too. They tried finding a way out, and Kanata surprisingly suggested they search for WHY they were here, which is something they actually didn’t think about until he mentioned it, they were much too focused on the dread of this place.

“Yo! Midori-kuuun~! Where’s captain?” Tetora waltzed into the classroom, Kanata shortly following in.

“Ah... in there...” Midori pointed to under the teacher desk, where the 3rd year was crawling. “He said he found a paper or something...”

“Ah! Tetora-kun! Shinkai-dono! D-Did you find anything..?” Shinobu ran over to his unit mates, looking less dizzy than before (since he fainted).

“Nah, not a thing.” Tetora huffed.

“Only ‘bodies’~” Kanata cheerfully added.

“I d-don’t think you should say that part enthusiastically.. “ Tetora warned his senpai.

“Ryuseitaiiii~! I have an announcement!” Chiaki quickly rose from beneath the desk, almost hitting his head.

“Ugh.... You’re loud even in a place like this..” Midori complained.

“What ‘is’ it, Chiaki~?”

“I found this sketchy looking article, it must be about this place..!” The red brunette took a deep breath before he started speaking. “Heavenly host news.. suspect for Heavenly Host Elementary... murders??”

“M-M-Murder???” Shinobu shivered at the word.

“There’s more,” Chiaki continued “suspect for the murders confirmed to be the true culprit, a middle aged man who happens to be a teacher at Heavenly Host Elementary school, as well as.... ah, it’s too smudged too read the rest!”

“T-There’s a murderer here???” Shinobu took caution and raised his hoodie on his head as a defense mechanism... for children at least.

“Is this w-why we’re here? So.. we can also get killed....?” Midori held back his terrified stutters.

“No way! a murderer can’t split a whole ground open!” Tetora refuted “It’s gotta be some weird supernatural stuff!! I dunno much about these stuff but the weird library dude with the glasses probably does!”

“Hm? You mean Aoba? You’re right, Nagumo! He WAS the one who.... WAAAIT!!!” Chiaki yelled louder than ever, to Midori’s annoyance. “THE CHAAARMS!! IT HAS TO BE THEIR FAULT!!”

“It is~” Kanata added “that ‘guy’ always has ‘weird’ gimmicks that ‘Nacchan’ likes.”

“So you sayin’ it’s all that guy’s fault....” Tetora clenched his fists with anger. “I’m.. gonna go beat him up!!”

“Nagumo! That’s not how heroes act like!!” Chiaki scolded the furious first year and tried calming him down “Aoba doesn’t mean harm, I’m sure, it must.... be a coincidence I’m certain!”

“You sure have high hopes, Morisawa-senpai....” Midori groaned.

“Of course I do!! A hero NEVER loses hope! Now stand upright, Ryusei green, you must believe you’ll always succeed!”

“Yeah yeah...” Midori just nodded along, not in the mood to deal with his annoying leader.

“Chiaki.”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Kanata?”

Kanata didn’t respond, instead he walked towards the classroom door with a blank expression on his face. He stood there looking at seemingly nothing, was he just spacing out as usual?

“K-Kanata? What’s going o-“

“Leave.”

“Wha-“

“Not ‘you’ Chiaki.”

Kanata walked back into the classroom and slammed the door closed before going back to his normal happy expression. What was all that??

“Uh.. Shinkai-senpai, what was up with uhh.. that?” Tetora questioned.

“Nothing~”

“Oooi Kanata-saaaan!”

A loud voice came from outside that made Shinobu’s soul nearly jump out of his body, as well as turning Kanata’s expression into an... annoyed one?

“That voice... Mikejima??” Chiaki ran to the door to open it, much to Kanata’s dismay.

“Uwaaah! Chiaki don’t ‘open’ it!” Kanata tried to stop him but failed.

“Aah how cruel of you, Kanata-san, I just happened to find fellow classmates and this is what you do?” Madara fake pouted but quickly smiled as he held Kanata in embrace.

“Get ‘off’ or I’ll ‘feed’ your body to the deep ‘sea’ barracudas.”

“Woah there! Quite hostile are we?” Madara laughed as he let go of the blue headed boy. “Though it’s terrifying to hear you say just body, haha, it’s like you’re implying I’d be dead already!”

“I ‘was’ implying.”

“Now now, don’t go saying such things in a place like this, we gotta stay together, not fight!”

“Mikejima’s correct!” Chiaki consented with the tall man beside him “I know you don’t really accept Mikejima that much, but you have to stick with it for now..”

“Ah....” Kanata couldn’t respond, he didn’t want to. He knows Chiaki and Madara are friends and he doesn’t want to upset his beloved friend for refusing to get along with someone he dislikes. Especially in a situation like this, it’s better to be silent than cause trouble. Though Kanata really hopes that Madara could fall down one of the holes in the hallway and maybe die.

“Ahh this is nostalgic! Reminds me of the old Ryuseitai days!” Madara grinned happily. How annoying, Kanata thought.

“Ah that’s right!” Chiaki was reminded “Mikejima, do you have any idea about how we ended up here?”

“Hm.. I may have a slight clue.. I’m not too sure of it though..but don’t worry! Mama will find a way!”

Annoying. Kanata thought again. Even if they made up.. slightly... towards the end of the year, Kanata still bore a strong hatred towards Madara and the way he calls himself “mama” all the time. Madara knew how much he hated that word, yet he kept using it. It’s petty of Kanata to think this way, but it doesn’t really end there at all. The whole setup was obvious to Kanata, Madara... there’s no way he truly cares about Kanata, it has to be due to his father’s case with the Shinkai household... the household that Kanata despises with a passion. That so called family of his... that treated him horribly, made him feel like... a monster.

“I think we might get answers if we find Aoba-san!” Madara inquires.

“Hmm, that’s true, though would he really know?” Chiaki was unsure.

“One way to find out, we look! Together!!” Madara puts an arm around Chiaki’s neck and pulls him close as the two exchange laughter.

Laughter.....? What? Madara... and Chiaki... no... no this was not allowed.. Chiaki... he’s... not yours. He’s mine. Stop laughing with him. Stop hugging him. Stop that. Stop it. He’s mine. Mine. Mine. MINE. STOP..... first you pretend you’re my friend.. then you steal the hero that saved me?

Endless thoughts roamed around Kanata’s mind, he was trying his best to not launch at Madara and kill him right now. Chiaki would be sad though, if he does anything harmful in a place like this... his hero.. will never forgive him...

“Chiaki....” Kanata quietly speaks up only to get overshadowed by Madara’s loud optimistic voice. Madara... that asshole. Kanata wanted to destroy him more than anything.

“Then how about this.” Chiaki comes up with a plan “Ryuseitai! Let’s go out to find Aoba’s unit, we can split into pairs to search this floor.”

“Ehh.. split up..?” Midori grunted “What if we... y’know..”

“Don’t worry! You’ll be fine with one of the 3rd years! We can pair you kids up with each of us so we can protect you!”

“Stop treating us like kids!” Tetora argues “Ya already know my punch could probably kill you!!”

“Uwaah so cold, Nagumo!” Chiaki sulked.

“S-So who’s gonna be paired with who..?” Shinobu asked.

“Hmm how about...” Chiaki pondered “Takamine can come with me, Sengoku could go along with Mikejima, and Kanata could go with Nagumo!”

The arrangement was good enough for Kanata, at least Madara isn’t near Chiaki.

“Kay, guess we’re together again, Shinkai-senpai!”

“Yes~ you’re a ‘good’ kid, Tetora~” Kanata smiles as he pets Tetora’s messy hair.

“H-Hey stop! We gotta move out!”

“Okay~” Kanata glanced at everyone as they moved out of the classroom, though he happens to notice something he wishes he didn’t.

“Good luck!” Madara fist bumps Chiaki and smiles warmly at him before leaving, Shinobu following behind him.

Unacceptable, the nerve of that guy, he dares take away the only person who accepted Kanata for what he is from the very start.... This.. is unacceptable.

“S-Shinkai-senpai...?” Tetora worriedly glanced at Kanata. Ah, he must have been making a scary face.....

“Let’s ‘go’~” Kanata waddled out, still mad, but hiding it with his usual eccentric behavior.

☆ ————————— ☆

The bloody walls kept getting bloodier every step they took, bodies piling up over each other, a combination of both skeletal remains and tattered corpses, if Chiaki wasn’t afraid before, he definitely was now. Truthfully speaking, he tried his best to stay hero-like and fearless, but he’s just shaking with fear now that he’s alone with Midori. He wasn’t that ashamed of showing how scared he was to Midori, since he already knows he’s a big scaredy cat (which the first year found adorable), but now that it’s the real deal, Midori can’t say it’s cute... maybe.. he can say he’s terrified too.

“Morisawa-senpai... I’m glad you stayed strong till now..” Midori smiled “although... I’d kinda like it if you please get off me.”

“N-N-N-No!! I’m not good with g-ghosts!!” Chiaki clung onto Midori’s waist tightly, his eyes shut so tight so he doesn’t have to look at the mess of flesh on the floors.

“Uh.. I can’t say they’re not real cuz of uhh... this.. but I’m scared too y’know..” Midori pushed the shaking 3rd year off his waist.

“Uuuu~ You’re so mean, Takamine!! If it were Kanata, he’d gladly let me hold him!”

“Then you should’ve went with him instead.” Midori sighed, he’s not up for Chiaki’s complaining at a time like this.

“I w-would’ve but!! I had to pair everyone up with someone older! It’s a leader’s responsibility to make sure everyone is safe!!” Chiaki sobbed as be tried holding back on Midori.

“Don’t say inspirational things while holding my jacket like a kid.” Midori grumbled.

“S-Sorry! I just can’t handle acting cool anymore~!! I’m gonna dieee!!”

“Ugh.. now I wanna die...”

Chiaki suddenly stopped in his track, looking at Midori with concern in his eyes. “Takamine... please.. don’t say such things here...”

Midori didn’t even realize the dangers of actually saying such things at a place like this, if he were to really crave death this much, he’s sure he’ll get his wish realized, but he really doesn’t want to die like this, everything here looks painful, it looks too painful, too sad... too unfortunate...

“Morisawa-senpai... sorry..” Midori apologized “do you think... we can get out..?”

“....” Chiaki stayed silent, he was afraid to answer. Despite how optimistic he is always, he couldn’t bring himself to answer because he knows.. he knows there might be no chance of survival. “Ahah... d-don’t worry.. I’m positive.. we’ll be okay!”

“Hm.. that must’ve been your first time telling a lie or something..” Midori looked at the poor corpse at the side of the hall, thinking of how he’ll look like when he dies too.

“..... I... nevermind.. I don’t know what to say anymore...” Chiaki stopped himself from talking, he knows Midori’s gonna shoot it down with a depressive statement, but he does so too in his own mind. It’s... hopeless..

“I’m a really problematic junior.. aren’t I..” Midori laughed a little depressingly “I keep losing hope every time you cheer me up.. I even made Tetora-kun and Shinobu-kun upset before Repayment fes... I know it’s all resolved now but..”

“Takamine. Stop right there!” Chiaki punched Midori’s arm.

“Ow?! What was that for?” Midori yelled.

“You’re still a kid! You’re learning everyday, so don’t dare downgrade yourself like that!” Chiaki scolded the tall boy. “Kanata and I graduating just means you’ll get more space to grow beside Nagumo and Sengoku.. so.. please, use it to your advantage..!”

Graduating... that’s if they escape here at all... “Morisawa-senpai....”

“I want to make sure you kids are always happy and I want you to continue nurturing Ryuseitai.. not as heroes only... but as friends who believe in and love each other.. so don’t let repayment fes and other things bring you down! Focus on the future!!”

“Future... huh....” Midori never really thought of a future besides taking over his family grocery store, even being an idol was accidental, so he has no clue what to do from there. “What’s your... plans for the future..?”

“Hmm.. If I could go with idol business alongside Kanata, it would be nice, I’d have to ask him though..” Chiaki pondered.

“You guys.. are really close, so I won’t be surprised if Shinkai-senpai accepts the most surprising stuff from you.”

“It’s not like I’m asking him to be my soulmate ahaha!” Chiaki laughed.

“Pretty sure he’d say yeah anyways, he’s... pretty weirdly calm..” Midori inquired, to him, Kanata is not a bad guy, he’s just pretty spacey and needs an eye on him sometimes.

Although, Chiaki knows Kanata would follow him to the ends of the Earth, claiming that Chiaki saved him, Chiaki himself wonders what troublesome things Kanata had to go through for this, he never asks though, he wants to accept Kanata the way he is without family involvement, he knows Kanata would be happier like this.... right?

☆ ———————— ☆

“Shinkai-senpaaaaaaaai!!” Tetora called out to the spacey boy, but to no avail, got no response. “Aaahh where’d he go?!”

“T-T-Tetora-kun..?”

“Hm..? Sengoku??”

“Uwaah it really is Tetora-kuuuun!” Shinobu ran crying to Tetora, hugging him as more tears fell, probably staining Tetora’s shirt.

“Why are you crying?? Where’s that weird guy who’s loud like taichou?” Tetora awkwardly patted Shinobu’s head, reassuring him.

“I d-d-don’t know! He s-suddenly disappeared and I was scared, so scared!” The little ninja sobbed.

“Ohh.. same here with Shinkai-senpai..! I can’t find him anywhere and I keep calling out for him but getting no response back!”

“W-What are we going to do...” Shinbou whimpered.

“I... I dunno... I guess we stick together..” Tetora held Shinbou’s hand to calm his nerves “I guess what a true man ought to do is reassure his teammate! Don’t worry Sengoku! I’ll protect ya!”

“Tetora-kuuuun~!!” Shinbou smiled cheerfully, a tiny prick of tears still remaining at the side though.

☆ ———————— ☆

It hurt, the pain was throbbing at his side, his shoulder was burning from the pain, but he has to stay strong and endure the pain.

“Ghhgh.. why.. is he doing this...” Madara sat against the wall, blood leaking on the floor and staining his uniform.

“Ma-da-ra.”

“GAH!” Madara struggled onto his feet and started running slowly so he doesn’t cause much noise.

Kanata was after him. Kanata was trying to kill him. He’s not going to spare him, he knows. Madara doesn’t want to fight him, but he doesn’t want to go down that easily, although it seems Kanata lost all sane feelings and is going out for Madara. When the brunette found him alone near the stairs earlier, he left Shinobu for a while to get Kanata, hoping he could get him to join them. It was a bad move, a really bad move, as he approached the blue haired boy, he ended up getting pushed down the set of stairs, resulting in probably breaking his shoulder. Luckily he’s really strong and his muscular build saved him from death, but that flight of stairs didn’t save him from this burning pain.

“Where are ‘you’... show yourself you ‘rouge’...!” Kanata flicked around a small rusty knife. Where did he even get that?!

“Kanata-san went crazy... I.. I need to find the others.. no no that’ll endanger them..” Madara thought to himself, he has to deal with Kanata by himself or else everyone in Ryuseitai might fall victim too. He has to figure out why Kanata is mad..

“Maaadaaaraaaaa!” Kanata screamed out, obvious hatred reeking in that one word.

“I.. have to run... hide....” Madara scrambled out of his spot, looking for a safe place to treat his injury without the threat of Kanata finding him.

“You ‘rouge’... you ‘hurt’ me... and stole my ‘hero’... and you are still ‘running’... after leaving me in ‘pain’... pretending to care....” Kanata’s words didn’t feel sad, rather, heavy with raging emotions.

“H-Huh..?” Madara was confused, he’d never do any of these things to Kanata, was he possessed or something..??

“Just... COME OUT AND DIE ALREADY!!” Kanata yelled, eyes filled with madness.

“K-Kanata-san..!!” Madara stepped out, no longer able to bear the pain of seeing Kanata like this, he truly cares about Kanata, and he doesn’t want to see his beloved friend blame him for such things. “Please.. let’s... resolve it all...”

“Resolve...?” Kanata clenched on the knife’s handle “We... already ‘resolved’ what we can... you... YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO GET ON MY NERVES NOW!!”

“NO KANATA-SAN!! I’m not! I want you to be happy, not mad..! Please, think of what Chiaki-san would say about this..!”

“Chiaki.... I.. ‘love’ Chiaki...” Kanata frowned sadly, his grip on the knife loosens a bit but remains strong, is he finally accepting Madara’s words?

“Chiaki-san would be sad to know you tried hurting someone... you see, I’ve known him for a really long time, so-“

“Long time?” Kanata chuckled “ahaha~ I ‘have’ to make my time with ‘Chiaki’ longer then~”

“S-Sure..! You’ll need to calm down a little though..!”

“I’ll make it ‘longer’.... by ending you.”

Before Madara could react, Kanata threw the rusty knife at Madara’s face, but the latter was no amateur, and easily blocked it, though he had to move his shoulder which triggered the pain again.

“AAUGHHH!!” Madara screamed in pain, the knife was rusty so it didn’t do harm, but Kanata planned further than this of course.

“DIE!!” Kanata grabbed the knife from the floor, taking the advantage of Madara in pain, and pushed him to the floor, causing the release of agonized screams from Madara.

“AAAAHH KANATA-SAN WAIT!!” Madara begged, he won’t die like this.. he can’t allow himself to do so!

“Shut up shut up SHUT UUUUP!!” Kanata slammed the rusty knife on Madara’s chest, resulting in a loud painful cry from Madara.

“K-KANA.. TA!!!” Blood seeped through, despite the knife’s rustiness, it still pierced through with enough force from Kanata, he made sure it was painful enough as well.

“DIE YOU FAKE ROUGE!! YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING THEIF!!” Kanata pulled the knife out, blood spraying out onto Kanata, and Madara’s screams fading into the noise that blocked Kanata’s thoughts.

“Ghh.. ple..ase!”

“DIE DIE DIE DIEEE!” Kanata stabbed back in, harder than before, and screams louder and much more pained than ever.

Kanata couldn’t feel it but he was crying, tears fell onto the agonized Madara beneath him, as Kanata kept stabbing continuously, without mercy, repeatedly telling him to die. The blood splattered everywhere, Kanata was sure that if anyone were to walk in on the scene, they’d mistake Kanata for a living corpse. But this is fine, he’s nothing but a monster now, nobody but his beloved hero can save him, his dear, beloved Chiaki. Madara.. tried to take him away, he did, he did he did he did!! Kanata knows he did.. for that.. he must die.

“K-Ka....nata.........” Madara’s eyes were almost lifeless, his voice weak. He wanted to make up with Kanata, but it ended up in something worse than a little hate relationship...

“*haah*..... *haaah*....” Kanata took deep breathes as the adrenaline kept him up. “Chiaki... will ‘save’ me... now... DIE!”

With one final scream, Kanata slammed the knife down, directly onto the middle of Madara’s chest, and dug deep down with it, to make sure Madara dies for sure, he can’f afford risks like this. He can’t afford Chiaki taken away. He can’t afford.. being replaced.

“Ah...... Madara...........?” Kanata flicked the lifeless man’s head, but no response.

He bent closer to see his eyes. Empty. He brought his hand to the bloody area around the man’s heart. No pulse. Probably. It’s too much of a gaping hole to tell.

“Ahaha~” Kanata giggled to himself “he’s ‘dead’..! He’s ‘finally’... gone!”

Kanata held his cheeks excitedly and giggled a little louder than before, it’s over. The pain is finally over. No one will get in the way now. Chiaki might not be proud of this but Kanata doesn’t need to worry about this. Kanata is a genius after all, he planned way ahead of all this, he would’ve easily killed Madara back at Yumenosaki, but that’s a crime of course, that’s why, the perfect place to murder without anyone finding out... is this place. A million corpses, and Madara could join them like an unfortunate little victim, how sad. Kanata’s bloody state could be played as an act too, he’s quite the skilled facade maker, his cute eccentric behavior was always just an act to cope with the mistakes of his birth from beginning to end.

“Chiaki...... ‘forgive’ me~” Kanata smiled, and fell to the ground beside Madara’s body. His vision grew blurry, he wasn’t hurt in any way, he was just tired both emotionally and mentally, he wanted... a little rest, maybe Chiaki could find him and kiss him awake “ahaha..~”

☆ ———————— ☆

It’s dark. Where... is this...?

“Gh.. ow.. my head hurts..” Hokuto woke up from the long nap he had, well, forced nap from that slam to the head. He looked around and could barely see anything, but it looked like.. a closet..? There were dirty cleaning equipment beside him so maybe it was.

“Where’s.. Akehoshi and the rest.. I need to find them..” Hokuto got up and took care of his step, then approached the door’s handle with a little twist.

“Oh. Great. Locked.” Hokuto sighed deeply, what a horrible day so far.

He knocked lightly on the door, awaiting a response, but nothing came, he knocked louder this time, but still nothing. And so, he had no choice but to shout for help.

“Is anyone out there?!” The 2nd year called, still.. no response.. but he heard.. footsteps..? Someone was here! “I’m in this closet place!! Someone unlock the door!!”

The steps grew louder and louder each step until... the door was finally unlocked, and the person that met him at the door was...

“Hokkee-kun....?”

“Gh! Sakasaki?”

“you.... livED..!” Natsume hugged Hokuto, his small size fitting perfectly between the taller boy’s arms. “I’m... haPPY~!”

“Uh.. Sakasaki.” This was awkward. Natsume is usually always rejecting of everyone, so for him to hug someone other than Sora...

“Eh?” Natsume realized what he’s doing and immediately jumped away. “A-AH F-Forget I DID that!”

“Uwah~ I wish I took a picture of that~” Tsumugi, who Hokuto didn’t notice until now, giggled.

“Shut UP FOOL.” The redhead slapped his senior’s face, as blush spread through his own.

“Sakasaki, do you know where the rest of Trickstar went?”

Silence engulfed the room, Natsume just turned away, and Tsumugi was a little nervous of speaking. Hokuto glanced at the blonde kid for a slight answer maybe, but the boy was sleeping peacefully, he must have been tired of this hellish place. Now he can’t help but wonder how little Tomoya is doing.

“Answer me, Sakasaki!”

“How should I KNOW. We met up ONCE and left.” Natsume gave half a true answer, preferably keeping the rest hidden. It was best for Hokuto.

“Ah, your head..!” Tsumugi rushed to Hokuto’s side and saw blood trailing down. “Y-Your wound is opening up more!”

“Ah, s-sorry, I was hit by something.. it’s-“

“We KNOW. Spare the detAILS.” Natsume shut him up. “Baru-KUN.. aND the others told US.”

“So they’re alive..!” Hokuto was relieved, but wondered why Trickstar didn’t stay alongside Switch, it’s safer to be a group rather than alone.

“About THAT... Hokkee-kun...” Natsume decided to just tell him straight up what happened. “I do not KNOW if they are alive or not ANYMORE.”

“H-Huh... what do you mea-“

“We encountered the SAME thing with the HAMMER. It chased US all, so we SPLIT up. It must have GONE after them.”

“Y-You’re... joking...”

“Spare me the JOKES part, I am not Wataru-nii-SAN.”

“I’m... going to look for them.” Hokuto walked to the door, but the little magician didn’t let him go out just yet.

“DO NOT.” Natsume clenched onto Hokuto’s shirt “I want.. you ALIVE.”

“Let go, Sakasaki.”

“NO!”

“SAKASAKI!!”

“Shut UP!! I DON’T WANT YOU TO DIE LIKE BAR- ah!” Natsume quickly covered his mouth before he said the name, they say that mentioning the dead could result in a curse, but right now, he’s had enough of curses.

“Die like.. who..?” Hokuto’s eyes widen a little, judging from the words, it had to be... no... “did..... Akehoshi...”

“No!! H-H-He’s not DEAD!”

“Did he.. die....?”

“I s-said NO!” Natsume clung tighter, he had enough. He doesn’t want Hokuto to die too, he really doesn’t.

“Sakasaki.. just tell me.” Hokuto looked melancholic, he figured it out already.

“Hokkee-kun.... please....!”

“I’m leaving.”

Hokuto swung open the door to the classroom they were in, ignoring the pleads of the redhead behind him. He doesn’t need pity and he definitely doesn’t need to live in the bliss of ignorance. He’s going to find the remaining members and hopefully confirm the state of Subaru. From Natsume’s wording, it might be that he died, but he can’t help but hang on to a thread of hope that’s waiting to snap.

He’s going to hang onto that thread. Forever.

☆ ————————— ☆

“Hokkee-kun.....” Natsume sobbed as he fell to the floor.

“N-Natsume-kun..” Tsumugi sat beside him and gave him a hug. “Don’t worry, Natsume-kun, I’m here for you...”

Tsumugi smiled

“I’ll always be here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love suffering too lol
> 
> (quick note about something from previous chapters: Sorry that I use Izumi's last name rather than first name out of dialogue, I'm used to calling him Sena so I instinctively type that, so when I look back, I notice how I write izumi and sena both out of dialogue, which is weird so I just stuck with calling him Sena, hope it doesn't bother anyone!)
> 
> Twitter: @DoesEmily


	8. Shangri-la of The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When things couldn’t go any worse, they always get amazingly worsened. UNDEAD truly hoped they’d live up to their name in a hellhole like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Spring break is finally sparing me so I can write, anyways have fun reading this chapter wink wonk

“Ah FUCK” Koga yelled as he swatted away the annoying vampire clinging on him. “Watch where yer going ya vampire bastard!”

“Uuu~ Doggie~ “ Rei whined “Get me tomato juuuice~”

“The hell’s wrong with you?! Ain’t ya seeing what’s happening right now?!” Koga scolded the whining vampire.

“Ah but Doggie~ I’m thirsty!”

“Ain’t ya a vampire or some shit, go suck blood off the walls and stop whinin’ so much”

“Ew” Rei scoffed. “I’m not a dog.”

“THE HELL YA TRYIN’ TO IMPLY?!” Koga yelled and grabbed Rei by his collar.

“U-Uwaa~ don’t bully your elderly like this~”

“Oii~ Dog-chan, don’t go picking on Sakuma-san like that.” Kaoru patted Koga’s head, to the latter’s surprise.

“H-Hey!! Don’t touch me, you playboy!”

“Jeez so rude~” Kaoru laughed and pulled Rei on his feet, of course leaving the vampire complaining even more.

“Tch, why’s he actin’ like a baby now of all times to choose.” Koga complained as well, leaving Kaoru in a pissed mood because they were both complaining and he really isn’t up for their arguments right after they had to walk around a whole mountain of decomposing corpses.

“Uuuu~ call Adonis-kun to get me juice then~” Rei begged.

“Shut up.” Koga glared at him. “Adonis said he heard something and he’s out to check, so he ain’t free for your whiny ass”

Rei whined even more and more, it felt unnatural because you’d expect THE Rei Sakuma to act serious and mature in a death threatening place, instead he’s acting like a kid, truly resembling his bratty brother. As their arguments grew bigger and louder, a knocking on the door occurred, to which the three boys in the room tensed up to.

“W-Who..” Kaoru whispered.

“Excuse me for the intrusion.” Adonis opened the door and bowed with respect to the people inside, as if he were still in school.

“Adonis!” Koga smiled in relief. “Thank god.. thought ya wouldn’t make it here... ahaha..”

“Ah, I apologize, Oogami. Oh, and the sound I heard was real, I found two people.”

“Eh~? Who?” Kaoru asked. And at the corner, two orange heads peeked in. It was the twins from 2Wink!

“S-Sakuma-senpaaaai!!” The two boys cried in sync and ran over to their club leader, hugging him, their tears staining Rei’s sweater.

“Ah~ my lovely grandchildren are safe~!” Rei hugged back the crying first years, comforting them. He thinks they must have gone through so much horrible events in his absence. Poor little kids...

“Oo~ how’d you find them so easy~?” Kaoru questioned with a smile, likely planning something in his head. “Say, maybe we could use your help to find Anzu-chan too! I really need some LIVING girls to talk to..”

The room suddenly went silent, nothing but whimpers coming out from the twins were heard, until they burst.

“A-Anzu...san....” Yuta’s eyes widened and filled up with more tears “NOOO!!” 

“ANZU-SAAAN..!!!” Hinata cried out, clinging onto his little brother and club leader.

“Aah~ look what you’ve done, Kaoru-kun, they’re crying now.” Rei glares at Kaoru as he continues to comfort the little boys.

“H-Hey I didn’t do anything!!”

“Shh.. calm down now...” Rei brushed his fingers along the two boys’ soft hair in means of comfort. “The little lady... Aoi-kun.. is she.. gone?” 

The two didn’t reply with any word other than a loud cry mixed in with hiccups from all the sobbing. Rei will just have to assume it really is what happened... yet he can’t seem to take all this sudden information in... the producer who helped Trickstar defeat the student council’s horrid tricks... she was.. gone.

“H-Hey.. is Anzu-chan....?” Kaoru’s eyes widened with fear.

“Hakaze-senpai..” Adonis looked at his senior with melancholy in his eyes.

“Aoi-kun, I truly despise having to ask you both of this.....” Rei hugged them closen in case they break the tears out again “But do tell me... what happened to you poor souls..?”

They really did cry again. Rei’s heart got crushed from just seeing their sad faces. This cruel fate they have to endure, if god was real, he would have at least given pity to these poor children.

☆ ——————— ☆ 

Scared.

He’s shaking in fear. No one is with him but the myriad of corpses of the room, he’s so scared. He’s not gonna make it, he’s going to die before living his dream. Or is this a dream? Maybe he was dreaming right now, maybe this entire thing is an illusion.

*creak*

“KYAHH!!” Tori yelped “W-Who’s there..!?”

Tori knows fully well these horror movie shticks never work, and that he shouldn’t even talk in a condition like this. But it’s scary, he’s all alone, no one beside him, Eichi, Wataru and even Yuzuru disappeared and he’s terrified on his own. Why did it end up like this..

Tori gets up from under the teacher’s desk he was hiding in to sneak a peek at what caused the noise. To his surprise, there wasn’t anyone, which just scared him even more. 

“Uuu~ Who’s... here..”

The small boy huddled up under that desk, fear eating up his insides, he’s so afraid and clueless of what to do now. Yuzuru won’t be able to save him now. 

“Yuzuru.... where are you...” Tori silently sobbed, no one to aid him and no one to comfort him. There was nothing left for him to do but shiver in fear and await his fate.... death?

“I’m... not gonna.. d-die...” Tori clenched his thighs, just looking for something to hold without pain. “I can’t.. die..!”

*creak*

“Uwaahh!!” Tori’s hands flew to his mouth to stop himself from screaming and causing noise, whatever is out there is surely not safe. He has to leave, he needs to leave this room and look for Yuzuru, or even anyone to keep him safe.

Slowly, he got up on his knees and silently shifted himself to the side, looking around for any signs of danger. Nothing was in the room, which was already a sign of danger on itself. The little boy creeped his way to the sliding door near the teacher desk, and pulled on the handle as it slid open. He took a sigh of relief because he truly thought it wouldn’t open.

Taking another look around and behind him, he speed-walked down the empty corridors, whimpering out Yuzuru’s name in hopes of getting a response. He’s gotta be somewhere, he won’t disappear like that, would he..?

“Y-Yuzuru...? W-Where are you...”

Suddenly a loud noise made Tori’s knees stop working and fell to the floor screaming. 

“AAAAH W-W-WHAT WAS THAAAT!!” 

Tori clumsily got back up on his feet and stepped backwards slowly, the loud noise grew louder and louder each step he took back, was this the end?

“N-NOO! PLEASE STAY AWAAY!!” Tori closed his eyes and flailed at nothing.

As he was stepping back, he fails to notice what his fate will truly be. 

“Kyah?!”

The boy trips upon himself only to finally notice what was behind him. A big, gaping hole. And he was falling apparently.

“KYAAAAAHHH!!!!!” Tori’s hands fly up instinctively and manages to grip the spiky edge. It hurt, it hurt his hands so much but he had to bear through it. “NOO NO NO!! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!!”

His other hand gripped the edge as well and tried to pull himself up, but he was really weak for that, barely holding himself right now was a blessing on its own.

His hands got redder and much more pained as the seconds passed, he doesn’t want to die. Tori kept screaming for help, and right as he was ready to give up, a loud noise comes up again, making Tori almost let go of his grip.

“AAAAHHH PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!! PLEASE SAVE MEEEE!!” He cried loudly, not caring about whoever it is anymore.

“H-Huh? Oogami-senpai please quiet a little!” A familiar voice rung out, could it be his assured safety?

“Haah?? What.. wait I hear it too, oi!!” The loud noise from earlier was all too familiar to Tori now, it must have been the terrifying dog from UNDEAD.

“AAHH PLEASE! I’M RIGHT! HERE SAVE MEEE!!” Tori screamed again to get their attention.

“That voice!!” The first familiar voice spoke again, this time it was getting closer. 

Tori’s hands started to lose grip, he couldn’t feel them anymore, they had to hurry or he’d fall to his demise. Tori prayed internally, he hoped with all his heart they’ll save him.

The silhouettes were now very familiar, it was Koga and Yuta... two? No it must have been his twin as well, Hinata.

“HIME-KUN?!” Hinata gasped “OOGAMI-SENPAI WE GOTTA PULL HIM UP!!”

Without words, the three reached out to Tori, right as his grip went loose, the grey haired 2nd year managed to grab the little boy’s wrist.

“OWW!!” It hurt Tori alot, to have all the force be focused on his wrist, as if it were to snap at any moment, but it was much better than falling to death. Before his arm could snap off from the gravitational force pulling him down, the twins pulled the short boy up by grabbing his other arm, finally lifting him to safe grounds.

“Haah... hah... Fuckin’ hell.... are ya okay?” Koga asked as he took deep breathes.

“Y-Yes....” Tori relaxed his heart that felt like it might explode at any moment. “S-Senpai.. you.. saved me..”

“Of course I did, I ain’t leavin’ anyone to die... not after... well...” Koga looked down in melancholy.

After what? No, that doesn’t matter right now, all that matters is finding his unit mates now. He needs to find Yuzuru, he needs to find the president, and as much as he hates to admit it, he needs to find that long-hair as well.

“D-Did you see Yuzuru..?” Tori questioned.

“Ha? Fushimi? Nah, only encountered the twins and the rest of UNDEAD, why’re YOU alone?” Koga scoffed.

“Uuugh~!! That’s none of your business, mutt!”

“THE HELL’D YOU SAY??”

“UWAAA I’M SORRY I’M SOOOORRYYYY!!”

Tori ran and hid behind the twins, the dog was being a nuisance to him and he really had to go find his unit, his separation with them was so foolish, even Eichi might hate Tori from it. But... he wouldn’t.. would he? That thought alone could bring Tori to tears, he doesn’t want to even think of it.

“Oi, shorty, twins. We’re gonna head back to that bastard vampire, he ain’t gonna be happy about the emperor’s child though.”

“V-Vampire..?” Tori figured he meant the creepy guy with the parasol that’s always inside the cafeteria eating raw tomatoes. “Why..? does he hate President..?”

“It’s complicated, shut up.” Koga shushed him and gestured to the first years to move. 

☆ ——————— ☆ 

“I understand your deep concern over little Tori, but we mustn’t separate much than we already are, Fushimi.” 

“B-But... President-sama! Please!! Bocchama must be afraid to death right now!!” Yuzuru argued against the student council president, he was desperate to find his master, even if it kills him.

“You. Loyal servant of Hime-kun.” Wataru glared Yuzuru with piercing dagger eyes. “It’d be best for both you and Hime-kun if you’d kindly not go against the emperor’s orders.”

That look at Wataru’s face put Yuzuru in deep disgust and hatred. No one tells him what to do other than his master. He’ll never forgive him, never. But he has to control himself right now, he can’t let his military trained, devoid of life self to come out at a time like this. Bad things always happen when that side of him reeks out, it already happens quite often when his jealousy gets the best of him.

He’s devoted, loyal and would never betray his beloved little master, nearly everyone in Yumenosaki knows this. So for Eichi and Wataru to refuse his request is truly the epitome of idiotic. They are fools, complete dumbasses. Ah, a mere servant shouldn’t say that to those in higher status than them. But... right now.. he’s no one’s butler.. except lovely, cute, little Tori’s butler.

“Fufu.. President-sama, you seem to not understand what I want.” Yuzuru smiled eerily. Two can play this game.

“Oho~ Not taking my advice, I see?” Wataru snaps back at Yuzuru before Eichi could speak. “Perhaps I was not clear enough?”

“Oh no~ I heard you loud and clear~” Yuzuru glared back at Wataru, trying to show him that he’s completely serious. “Now, I shall depart and search for Bocchama.”

“Not so fast, butler. You will not disobey the Emperor as you like.” Wataru stopped him in his tracks. It seems playing Mr. Nice Guy isn’t working out so well anymore.

“Kindly shut your mouth, please.”

“F-Fushimi..?” Eichi was shocked at that, the gentle servant using such language?

“I see you have no intentions of letting me go. Must I use the hard way? Bocchama won’t be proud of me for it, but for Bocchama... I’d even kill.”

“S-Stop kidding around, Fushimi.. I’m only doing this to keep Fine saf-“

“Safe my ass, if you truly wanted Fine safe then you would’ve immediately sent me away.” Yuzuru yelled at the 3rd year, riled up with anger.

“Enough, you foolish servan-“

“Why should I listen to a clown like you if all this wasted time could’ve gone into rescuing Bocchama?” Yuzuru mocked Wataru, giving him the biggest shit-eating grin ever, he’s lost control of himself now, his other, violent, side is taking over.

“Fushimi, please reconsider.. Tori’s a smart kid, he’ll be fine.. besides.. this is good training for him to be independe-“

“Shut the fuck up.” Yuzuru spat out, no longer giving a single damn about his formality. “You know, I always thought of killing you if it weren’t for Bocchama’s interference.”

“Ufufu~ Killing the emperor himself? You’d have to end me first if you are merely even THINKING of touching him.” Wataru’s face was filled with grimace, he was equally serious about this as Yuzuru was.

“Oh? What’s a simple clown going to do?” Yuzuru smirked, a high schooler like him is nothing against a military trainee like himself.

“W-Wataru, refrain from such acts..!” Eichi seemed worried for real, not wanting things to get worse than they already are.

“Don’t worry, President-sama~ If he wants to fight me, I won’t be afraid, oh, I don’t have any weapons on me either, so go ahead and kill me~”

Yuzuru provoked the long haired man, this all reminds him if the military days and how he provoked the elder trainees, it was truly fun to make a fool out of them after he completely beat them up, it was even much more fun to taunt his old friend, even if they had a more brain and brawn type of relationship... Ibara would probably be happy to see Yuzuru like this.

Without thinking, Yuzuru started laughing and walked away, only to be stopped by Wataru who suddenly charged at him. “I truly wonder who the clown here is.” He whispers as he pulls Yuzuru’s hand all the way back, hard and in a way the shoulder blades could shatter. Yuzuru was a little surprised that he’d take this method, but this was child’s play to him, nothing like the rough training he underwent.

“Kehe~ How cute of you.” Yuzuru easily slips out, kneels to the ground and kicks Wataru’s chin, shoving him to floor, good thing he’s still flexible for a move like this.

“WATARU!!” Eichi ran over to the man on the floor, he was obviously mad now. “FUSHIMI...!! You have no idea what you’ll put yourself through now.. The Tenshouin family won’t go eas-“

“Tenshouin? Spare me your silly family, you better open your eyes, rich boy, this is a war-like place, in a war zone, your money is as good as dirt.”

“Then.. why do you insist on looking for Tori.. isn’t it for the money..?”

“Of course a lifeless rich man couldn’t understand something like this. Why don’t you go back to being a little ill child in your playground?” Yuzuru walked over to Wataru’s unconscious body and stepped on his shoulder.

“STOP!!” Eichi quickly got up and tried pushing away the servant, only for Yuzuru to easily dodge. “Ghh!! W-What even are you??”

“Me? Ahah~ Nothing much, I’m just a mere butler looking forward to serving his master~” Yuzuru’s wide yet innocent smile gave off vibes of danger, something even Eichi himself couldn’t challenge.

So this is the end of Fine, isn’t it. To die out in a corpse wasteland, how ironic.

☆ ———————— ☆

“Hm...” Rei leaned on Kaoru’s back, the other clearly irritated at that. “Aaa~ when will Doggie and the kids come back~”

“Sakuma-san, quit leaning on me..” Kaoru complained.

“Ah, Sakuma-senpai, would you like to lean on me instead? I am fairly strong so I am sure I could hold you too.” Adonis offered his senior.

“Adoniiiis-kun~! You’re a kind soul, aren’t you??” Rei hugged Adonis’s waist and stuck his tongue out at Kaoru, who simply ignored him.

“Anyways, Sakuma-san, might wanna read this?” Kaoru handed Rei an old torn up paper, it was smudged but still sort of readable, the kanji on it was super old, something an old man could read, maybe Rei?

_______________________________

Death of school nurse by the name of ##### in Heavenly Host Elementary, suspects still unknown, police are questioning the possibili#### of #### #### ######  
________________________________

And the rest was completely unreadable and cut off, annoying but what else could he have done. Rei shoved the scrap of paper into his pocket and sighed for the millionth time today.

“Heey, Sakuma-san, all the sighing is seriously making me feel depressed now.” Kaouru got up and headed to the door. “I’m gonna look for dog-chan, maybe you’ll quiet down..”

“Aaah~ but what about this note? It’s truly worrying to see something like this..” 

“I’m not surprised much about it...” Kaoru replies, you know, considering the whole area was already loitered with death, what’s new to this?

Kaoru wasn’t the type of guy who would investigate every nook and cranny of a place and object, his family always reminded him how he was such a laid back person, it never really bothered him until recently, seeing how his elder siblings are already ahead in life while he’s still playing around like an idiot.. it hurt.. and he can’t help but notice that he’s still doing the exact same mistake. He’s lazing about again, he’s being useless again. Maybe Rei agreed to work with him in idol business simply out of pity for what Kaoru’s outcome in life might be..

“Hey.. Sakuma-san..?” Kaoru stopped himself from leaving. “Mind if we have a private talk for a while..?”

“Oh my? How odd, would you like Adonis-kun to stay out?” 

“Ah, I totally forgot about him, oops.”

“It’s fine if it’s something personal that Hakaze-senpai does not want to share to everyone, I shall step out of the room.” Adonis stepped out of the room.

“We’ll call you back in, do not worry, ah do try to stay close though!” Rei warned.

“Of course, Sakuma-senpai.” Adonis replied as he closed the sliding door.

The room sat in silence for a few seconds, which seemed like a few hours actually. It was awkward, Rei’s alluring gaze struck Kaoru, he couldn’t think of anything to say, words seemingly lost out of his mouth. Rei’s crimson eyes stared at Kaoru, making him feel much more nervous for some reason, even though he just wanted to talk about their future, come to think of it.. he didn’t even have to send Adonis off.. Kaoru isn’t thinking of confessing or anything weird like that, at least he thinks so.

“Kaoru-kun..?” Rei tilted his head to the side curiously.

“Sakuma-san... sorry for troubling you...”

“Hmm? Whatever could you mean?”

Kaoru sat on the edge of the desk behind him and looked off at the window near him, it was raining outside, and has been raining for the past hours they’ve been here too. What a weird, unnatural place they’re in..

“I just.. wanna apologize for all the dumb things I did to trouble UNDEAD and all...” Kaoru laughed, ashamed of himself “y’know.. all the times I skipped and got lazy to do work and .... yeah..”

Rei stood there silently and then burst into a soft laughter “Kaoru-kun~ I do not mind that, I was similar to you in fact, back when I was the demon king, kukuku~”

“Ah come to think of it, you really were wild back then, true? Dog-chan tells me all about it, ahahaha..”

“Oh that puppy is still hung up on the old Sakuma Rei-chan I see...” Rei covered his face, embarrassed at himself of the past.

How cute, Kaoru thought, almost like a girl.

“Hey.. Sakuma-san, is there a reason you really want me to join you after graduation?” Kaoru twirled around his long hair, distracting himself from looking at the vampire in front of him.

“Kuku... Kaoru-kun.. is interesting, what else can I say?” Rei giggled.

“Ehh~? What does that even mean?” Kaoru couldn’t help but smile at that response.. Rei was too nice, Kaoru appreciated it.. although he’d appreciate it more if the conflicted feelings within could stop at once.

“Kaoru-kun... I... I apologize about the young lady..”

“Lady.. you mean.. Anzu-chan..?” Kaoru frowned as he remembered her.. why is Rei apologetic about it..?

“Kaoru-kun... please... stay safe.” Rei looked at the blonde with pleading eyes.

“S-Sakuma..san....?”

“The young lady’s death... I knew her fate were to happen....” Rei clenched his fists. “Everyone’s fates... I have knowledge of how everything will go...”

“Eh......?”

Fates? What does he mean? That’s.. impossible to know, right? It isn’t like Rei is a god or something, even if he claims he’s a vampire, a creature like that shouldn’t know the outcomes of someone’s life...

“Kaoru-kun... The reason.. I’ve been messing around like this..” Rei hid his face by turning around “is because.... I know what will happen.. it’s impossible to prevent it...”

“Oi! Sakuma-san, snap out of your chuunibyou already! A vampire can’t tell the future.. so-“

“I beg of you... stay safe..” Rei got off the desk and tightly hugged Kaoru, not showing any signs of wanting to let go.

Kaoru was lost, does he hug back? Or does he push him away? The blonde touches Rei’s shoulder only to notice that his shirt is starting to feel wet, was Rei.. crying? And now for some reason, Kaoru himself feels like crying.. what is this feeling.. it’s like his heart was bottled up for the longest time, only to find a single crack of freedom to let his emotions flow.

“S-Sakuma...san...” Kaoru hugged him back equally as tight, his eyes hurt, he wanted to hold himself from crying but at this rate, he’ll shed a waterfall of tears.

“Kaoru-kun.... Where did I go wrong...?”

“Don’t worry.. you didn’t do anything wrong... these.. fates.. I’m sure nothing will happen...” Kaoru pulls Rei close to his face, Kaoru’s shame and fear of men all went flying out the window, this scene deeply reminded him of his sister and her arranged marriage, he hates it when he gets so sympathetic like this.. 

“I promise you..” He pressed his forehead to Rei’s, and gently smiled at him.

“Kaoru-kun....” Rei wanted to cry more, his heart couldn’t take knowing that so many innocent, growing kids will die just like that. He couldn’t handle it all alone, he wanted someone to comfort him. He was always the one comforting others, but now.. he really needed this.. “I’m sorry.. I really am..”

“Please don’t say that, everything.. will be fine... I swear.” Kaoru pulled Rei closer, almost as if they were to kiss. Kaoru would definitely mind something like this since Rei’s a boy, but.. he was really an exception this time.

Shakily, he pulled Rei closer and closer until Rei himself put their lips together. The blonde couldn’t help but feel weird, but the feeling of comfort hit him more, the feeling of having someone who truly cares about him, it was far more satisfying than having a fear of it.

The kiss was chaste, simple and ended quickly, it reminded Kaoru of the time Kanata tried to kiss him, which was really.. something. Rei’s face was red from all the blushing and maybe from the crying from earlier. Both 3rd years felt ashamed of the kiss, but both know it felt nice, and wouldn’t mind doing it again some other time, which is surprising for someone like Kaoru, who was a ladies man.

“I a-apologize.. was that not in your favor..?” Rei stuttered, still a bit sniffly from the shock of feelings.

“I-It’s fine.. I guess.. I couldn’t stand there watching you like that so.. uh..” Kaoru’s hands awkwardly tried to explain his notion, and of course awkwardly failing to convey it.

“Kuku~ Kaoru-kun, you’ve truly grown as an idol, this is why.. I’m happy to have you work alongside me..” Rei wiped his tears away and gave the blonde man a smile.

“I’m.. glad you think so,” Kaoru smiled back “I’m happy to work with you, ah, but please don’t tell anyone about this, I’m sure that dog will chew my head off if he finds out.”

“I’ll try my best~”

“Ahh that isn’t reassuring either!”

The two boys laughed together, almost forgetting they were in a death threatening situation right now, but honestly, they’d do anything to forget about this hellish nightmare, it only reminded them of the bad decisions and ends they’ll have.

*knock knock*

“Ah crap, is that Adonis-kun?” Kaoru moved back and pretended that nothing happened, he’d rather be caught dead than flirting with Rei.

“Adonis-kun, you may come in..?” Rei was a bit taken back by the surprise knock.

The door slid open so fast, it felt like it might break off, Adonis entered, panting loudly, something must have happened.

“Adonis-kun...?”

“Sakuma-senpai.. something..... something’s coming this way.. it’s.. glowing too.”

“Shit, Sakuma-san, we better move!” Kaoru pulled onto Rei’s sleeve to rush him out.

“Ahh wait what about Doggie??” Rei almost tripped upon his steps as the three boys ran away from the room and whatever impending doom awaited them.

“I’ll.. I’ll find him for you later, we need to stay safe for a while first!”

Rei didn’t reply, he just nodded. Kaoru was sure he’ll be fine, he’s got the twins with him so things will hopefully go well, but for now, they had to run. Where are they running? Kaoru had no clue, he just had to keep going or they’ll all die. Kaoru made sure to take a mental note to apologize to Rei and the dog later, he wouldn’t want to cause anymore trouble than he did before.

“Right, Sakuma-san..! Tell me everything later.. okay??” 

Everything. The cruel fates of everyone, the fates that Rei supposedly knew of. Maybe with this, their answer to escaping could be right within their fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to write “I’m just one hell of a butler” for Yuzuru’s lines im so sorry im never getting over Kuroshitsuji, anyways yay nobody dead yet and theres fluff too
> 
> Twitter: DoesEmily


	9. Unraveled Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As things got more and more hectic, secrets were revealed, ones that could ultimately decide their fates of death or survival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, bit of a long chapter here yay. A quick notice but I’ll be going on a more original side than the main story of Corpse Party, the rules of CP still apply, as well as ghost characters and stuff, it’s just that it’ll be a bit more different than how the main cast in CP did stuff.

The dust was truly suffocating, Keito was near ready to throw himself out of the room’s window if he could, he doesn’t want to be in this library anymore but he doesn’t have a choice, if he wants to find a way out, he’ll have to work for it.

“Kiryu-dono? Hasumi-dono?” Souma walked over to the two men investigating around. “I-Is there.. any way might I assist you in...?”

Souma was a good child, Keito appreciated the young boy’s help and assistance in everything, he saw it as a way for Souma to grow up as an independent leader, especially with the fact that Kuro and Keito himself are leaving him alone after graduation. It hurt Keito to think of that but it made him proud that he raised Souma as the future successor of Akatsuki. Oh how Keito wishes that he could think of graduation as the worst thing to happen to them.

“Kanzaki... We’re good so far, I don’t believe any of the old books here are any help anyways.” Keito gets down the half broken ladder and pats Souma’s head. “I’m grateful for your hard work.”

“Ahah, Hasumi-dono, I’m deeply honored!” The long haired boy smiles cheerfully. “Ah, what of Kiryu-dono?”

“Don’t worry about me, kid.” Kuro throws a thumbs up from where he is, with a few books in his left hand. “Oi, Hasumi, got some things ya might wanna check out.”

Kuro tosses a thin book at Keito, the latter almost missing it, he gives him a glare but ignores it anyways, Kuro never changes, does he. Sophisticatedly coughing once, he opens the thin notebook to read what it holds, and his eyes go wide simply from the first thing he sees. 

“WHAT THE- W-What.. is this..” Keito instantly shuts the notebook, regretting even looking in.

“H-Hasumi-dono..??”

The book radiated the most evil of auras, the first page in itself was most likely a warning of the child’s play it must have been in comparison to the other pages. Horrifying, messed up and inhuman is how he’d describe it. It contained a simple stapled photo of dead people, that wasn’t new though, these are all around the place here, Keito’s family would be making business as quick as ever, but what he saw was worse a million times. Indescribable parts were all over the photo, it was a huge stain on a wall, but instead of paint, it was the body itself. Keito could probably throw up if he saw it in reality, but he’s sure it’s somewhere around here. He hopes to avoid it.

“Sorry you had to see that, Hasumi, but the other pages are sketchy.” Kuro points out.

“Hasumi-dono, if it is too much for you, then I shall open it and see for myself instead!” Souma offered.

“N-No!” Keito rejected, he can’t let Souma’s pure soul get exposed to such horrifying scenes. “I-I can manage..”

Taking a slow peek, he opened the book once more, trying his damned best to not collapse right there from the mighty gore that rested there. Flipping to the page after was something more.. creepy... Words, all written in red.. blood maybe, it was as difficult as ever to read, the words all jammed into each other, but he could clearly see common phrases here and there, with the words “I’m sorry” repeated over and over on one of the pages. Another page had a more bizarre way of writing, it felt like whoever wrote this was slowly descending into madness. As he flipped through more and more, trying to connect keywords with each other, he reached the last page, the handwriting seemingly given up, but the words as clear as day.

Beware the girl in the red dress.

... red dress?

“Kiryu, where’d you find this?”

“Right here at the very bottom of the shelf.” Kuro pointed at the extra bloody corner, well that’s not a good sign.

Keito adjusted his glasses and sighed. “How incorrigible, Kiryu, always not thinking before you do something dangerous..”

“I think it is very admirable of Kiryu-dono to face danger like that!!” Souma defends his senior.

“I’ll truly never get you, muscle heads..” Keito shakes his head. “Anyways, you’re holding a bunch of other books?”

“Ah, these look like some articles or somthin’ like that.” Kuro hands them over to his fellow teammate, much gentler this time, and Keito makes sure to thoroughly scan the covers.

Heavenly Host Elementary daily articles, death autopsies, perpetrator files, academy history, and some flyers that look almost a million years old. It all seemed like normal information.

Keito was marveled at what he found, this all had information that might help him figure out why they’re here, it was finally their golden chance to get out of the hellish place they ironically call Heavenly Host Elementary.

But oh how wrong he was.

He opens the book with the academy history only for a spark to appear at the corner of the page, and if Keito’s reflexes weren’t decent thanks to idol work, then he would have been a goner. The book burst into a firework of flames, engulfing the rest of the documents and notes within it. Souma screams and Kuro immediately acts up, thankfully, Keito realizes and throws away the documents, which are now a ball of fire, onto the ground.

The flame grew stronger, and a panicked Souma gripped at his side instinctively to pull out his sword, only now realizing that he doesn’t actually have it with him. Keito pulls Souma behind him to protect him from any sparks that fly out, Kuro as well standing in front of the 2nd year.

“W-What the hell??” Keito’s hands were surprisingly shaking, he realizes he could have died from this.... “why.. did it burn..?”

“HASUMI, KANZAKI, WE BETTER LEAVE!!” Kuro forcefully grabs the two other Akatsuki members’ hands and runs out of the musty library as fast as he could. Keito was grateful he did that, staying in a room with fire is bad for one’s lungs, and could cause a lack of oxygen.

After a few seconds of panic, the three hurriedly move away from the room, it was safer for them. But after a few minutes of thinking, Keito realized that the fire might spread if they don’t put it out, now he was deeply troubled, do they put it out? Do they ignore it? What if it spreads? What if it burns down the entire building? What will happen then?

“Hasumi! Snap out of it!” Kuro shakes Keito around, his glasses almost falling off. 

“H-Huh? Oh, sorry, I..” Keito readjusted his frame “Listen, we need to shun the fire down. It’ll spread if not.”

“B-But.. Hasumi-dono, there isn’t a drop of liquid here..”

Souma was right, this old building is no doubt to be empty of any water supplies, he thinks of blood as replacement, blood is around 90% water by volume, so using a good amount might work, but that in itself is quite disgusting and Keito honestly prefers not to do that at all.

“Ahh~ what a shame.”

A curious sounding voice suddenly echoes from the direction of the burning library. Keito and the others flinch at it and turn to look, they seem to have encountered someone familiar, at least Keito is definitely familiar with him.

“Is that..” Keito squints to try making out who the figure is. “...Aoba...?”

☆—————————☆

“Ritsuuuu!” Mao calls out, not sure how many times he’d done it so far.

He knows it’s hopeless now. He’s lost track of everyone and ended up all alone, he truly was an idiot at the core. Nothing but dust, blood and limbs met his way, he hates to admit it but he’s gotten used to it. He got used to seeing tattered bodies, dislocated parts, and pools of blood. It must be a sign that he’s slowly going crazy. He wonders if he’ll even feel anything if anyone close to him dies. He hopes none of the two things happen though..

“Ritsuuuu...... ugh....” Mao sits up against a wall and looks at the broken ceiling, wondering if he’d be lucky enough to wake up from a dream right there.

He thinks of what Ritsu must be doing right now. Is he wandering around aimlessly like him? Or is he with his unit team mates, safe and sound all together? Was he smart enough to keep everyone as a group? Or was he as hopelessly stupid as Mao to get everyone separated. The more the red head thinks about this, the more he wants to just end this entire mess already. Is this normal, does this type of supernatural thing happen to all normal people? Or is it just Mao’s incredibly bad luck that gets him involved in the biggest messes? He had no idea, honestly.

“Ritchan...” Mao covers his face and slides down to the floor, tears beginning to well in his eyes. “R-Ritchan... where are.. you..”

Ritsu can’t hear him of course, he knows that already. All that’s left for him to do is sob his eyes out until someone helps him. This is just like the old times of when he was just a little child, he was a coward who cried at every singe thing, and now he’s doing it again. Even if Mao thinks his childhood friend is always relying on him, he’s ultimately wrong because he himself is the actual one relying on Ritsu all the time.

Really, he can’t imagine a world without Ritsu. He needs to find Ritsu. He needs to make sure Ritsu is alive.

“Ritchan.. Stay put... I’ll find you..” Mao wiped his tears away and manned himself up. He needed a little stress reliever like this, letting a sob out every once in a while is good he guesses.

Quick footsteps echo in the hall, ones that aren’t Mao’s, and it sends his heart flying from fear, is the terrifying thing with the hammer back? Mao stays in his place, not sure how to move or react, thinking that maybe he should wait it out to see who it is. Maybe it’s Ritsu? But that was just a hopeless guess.

“R-Ritsu.....?” Mao called out.

“H-Huh..? That voice..!” A familiar sounding voice rung back, and Mao’s heart jumped from joy to finally reunite with someone.

“Makoto??”

“U-Uwaaah!!” Makoto stumbles upon the red head, his eyes tearing up as he runs to hug him. “ISARA-KUUUUN!!”

Mao catches Makoto in his arms and hugs back, he thought he’d never see him again. It wasn’t Ritsu but at this point, he just wants someone to be with him. After letting Makoto cry out a little bit more, he comforts him by petting his head and whispering to him that it’ll be ok.

“Shh.. Don’t worry, we’re together at least..” Mao frowns “Did you get separated from Subaru?”

Makoto doesn’t answer, he just breaks the hug and looks down to the ground, guilt overtaking his expression. Oh no, something happened, didn’t it.

“Makoto....?”

“Akehoshi-kun..... he’s.....” Makoto couldn’t bring himself to continue, it hurt.

“Hey, come on.. don’t tell me...?” Mao’s eyes widened, he was nervous for an answer.

“Akehoshi-kun..... is dead.”

He’s what? Mao couldn’t believe what he was hearing right there. Makoto just told him that his best friend, his team mate, the one who helped him realize right from wrong... was dead. That’s just a joke though... right? It’s another one of those silly acts, isn’t it..?? Subaru’s going to pop out the corner and the two are gonna laugh it out... but unfortunately he can’t dream for so long. As reality set in, Mao realized the true horrors of this place.. and that his friend.. was seriously dead.

“A..A joke.. this isn’t...a joke.. right..?” Mao desperately wanted to avert the truth.

Makoto looked away, not sure how to even explain what happened to them. “Girl... in a red dress.... it was.. all her fault...”

That’s right. Mao knows it isn’t anyone’s fault. It’s just the fault of the one that brought them here. Meaning it must have been that little one in the dress.

“Makoto.. You... don’t need to explain what happened..” Mao didn’t want to bring more pain to Makoto. Right now, they should just focus on reuniting with everyone. Most importantly: Ritsu.

Ritsu.. he only prayed for his safety right now.

☆————————☆

It’s been god knows how many hours since they’ve been here. Arashi’s eyes are tired, her legs were sore from walking, her arms felt like they might fall off, and her behind hurt like hell from carrying an unconscious Tsukasa on her back. If this were a normal situation, she’d be complaining about it all day, but now, she’s afraid of even opening her mouth to speak. She really, really wants to go home, she misses her family, her little cat, Nyanko, she even misses Kunugi-sensei, she misses... everyone.

“Nhhn....” Tsukasa groaned on her back, finally waking up it seems.

“Ah?? T-Tsukasa-chan..!” She shook him on her back a little to break him out of his snooze.

“U-Uh..?? Ah..? Narukami-senpai...? Why are you carrying me..?” Tsukasa’s face was slightly embarrassed.

“Don’t go asking me that!!” Arashi pouts and lowers him to his feet. “You were the one who suddenly started choking yourself!!”

“So you kicked me?!”

“Ugh! I had no choice you know??” Arashi protested.

“Well... fine.. I guess Narukami-senpai would know better..” Tsukasa guilty smiled “T-Thank you..”

Arashi simply smiled at him, he’s such a kid sometimes, it was really cute. That’s why.. Arashi has to protect him and make sure he stays safe.. his future is important, if he dies so early.. no, she can’t bring herself to think like that, he’ll live, he’ll be the one to live and lead Knights even if it means sacrificing herself for him. Right.....

“Narukami-senpai...” Tsukasa suddenly raised his hands and looked at them, eyes widening in fear. “Something... possessed me.....?”

Right, she forgot about that part. Tsukasa wouldn’t easily give his life away like that, so.. what happened.. is a mystery...

“Narukami-senpai....” Tsukasa started shivering in his place. “I-I’m... not gonna... die... am I..?”

Arashi was out of words, she didn’t know what the right thing to say was, but she’s certain she will not let Tsukasa die. A Queen has to protect her subjects and loyal knights.. that’s why, she must not give up.

“Shh... Tsukasa-chan, sweetie..” She pulled him close and hugged him, feeling his shivering body up against hers. “I promise that everything will be fine..”

“B-But... what if... I d-die..” Tsukasa was crumbling, he hugged tight onto Arashi’s back, trying not to fall down. “I’ll.. n-never see.. my family.. and K-Knights.. ever..”

“Honey.. please, don’t cry.. I’m here to protect you..” She was half right. She wanted to protect him as much as possible, but she feared that something might happen to her that prevents her from helping Tsukasa out anymore. Who’ll protect him if she dies?

“R-Really...?” The red head whimpers and buries his face on Arashi’s chest.

“Mhm~ I promise.. as long as I’m alive.. I’ll keep you safe too..” The blonde brushes her hand along the first year’s hair.

“Then...” Tsukasa suddenly stops shivering and whimpering. “Good luck staying alive.”

Puzzled at the words, Arashi doesn’t have enough time to realize the sudden hands that push her to the ground and fly to her neck, grip tightening almost immediately.

“AHH??! TSU- aaaAAA-“ Arashi is confused, scared and shocked. Tsukasa was atop of her, choking her, a big grin on his face. This is bad.

“AhahaHAHA~!!l Tsukasa laughed maniacally. His grip grew tighter, and Arashi was trying her best to fight back, but her arms felt heavy, her eyes started straining, her vocal cord not letting her make any noise except a struggled one. 

“Is senpai afraid~? Is senpai afraid of losing her precious life?” Tsukasa tightened his hands around her neck even harder, threatening to break it. 

Arashi couldn’t do anything but cry, as her eyes almost whitened from the pain. She couldn’t breath anymore, she opened her mouth to try taking in air but Tsukasa’s death grip kept her from doing that. She couldn’t even think of why Tsukasa was doing this, all that’s going around her head was the need for air and the desperation to stay alive.

“Senpai is very adorable! Fighting like a little fledgling trying to stay alive, this is truly hilarious!!” Tsukasa leaned close to the desperate blonde’s face and whispered with a sly smirk on his face. “It’s unfair you get to be alive, you know.”

What did that mean? Tsukasa was alive and well too, so why is he even doing this?? Arashi couldn’t think about it anymore, her eyes’ whites invading the space, her entire body was shaking, begging for this to end, it was the end for her. To die by the hands of a knight...

how funny.

A loud thud echoed from behind the two, despite Arashi’s loosening grip on her consciousness, she managed to notice it, but Tsukasa surprisingly didn’t. Taking that as her chance for survival, she fought hard to stay alive, thinking that maybe whatever this sound is could be someone coming to save her. But oh was she wrong.

A tall, terrifying figure loomed behind Tsukasa, her vision was too blurry to know what that thing was, but she knew it wasn’t good. It had some sort of... hammer.. in its hand as well, it slowly raises it and realization hits upon Arashi. Her eyes go wider than they already are, that thing was going to kill them both if Tsukasa doesn’t kill her first.

“Say good bye, onee-cha-“

***THUD***

Tsukasa was no longer on Arashi nor was he choking her. Arashi coughed and inhaled as much air as she can, trying to revive herself from an almost death experience. Her head’s dizzy, but she tried her very best to put two and two together and realize what’s happening. Tsukasa. He was on the floor, head spilling and tainting the floor a dark crimson. It was surprisingly intact, but that amount of blood could no way mean survival. Tsukasa... oh.

“Aaah.. *cough* T-T-Tsu..ka..sa...” Her head was throbbing in pain, it hurt so much, and her throat pained every time she tried to breathe. “Tsu..kasa...?”

With no answer, her heart started panicking, he’s not dead, he can’t be, not after all the things Arashi promised him. This can’t happen, this can’t be happening, she won’t allow it to!

But she can’t do it either.

She tried to get up but it just hurt her head even more, her limbs were as heavy as stone, it felt excruciatingly painful. Before she could even regain control on her body, the frightening figure who was still standing there moved, almost giving Arashi half a heart attack. The blonde shivered in fear, she was dying next wasn’t she. She close her eyes, and tried stilling herself, maybe pretending to be dead works? But it must have obviously heard her earlier, so maybe she really is done for.

As the figure approached, Arashi’s heart beats started getting much more audible. Until suddenly, the giant man turned to Tsukasa’s direction, walked over to the body and picked it up. Why is it taking a dead body away?

Arashi kept pretending to be another corpse as she peeked through the corner of her eye at the scene in front of her, the giant monster taking away Tsukasa’s motionless body. It seems as much as god hated her, he spared her this once.

But things weren’t that simple. Tsukasa was gone now. And it’s all Arashi’s fault, all because she couldn’t take care of him. Her mind was too tired to think anymore, her eyes were forced close by wearing out, and her fast heart beats slowly lulled her to sleep.

She, who loved herself the most, now despises herself most of all.

☆ ————————— ☆ 

“Mmm.. I’m getting sleepy..” Ritsu mumbled to no one.

It was weird, he’s usually sleep when it’s broad daylight, but he couldn’t even tell what time it is anymore, and looking outside the windows only reveals an endless, rainy night sky. It felt like a whole different universe, something he cannot grasp straws at. Ritsu did not like thinking about such things too much, his knowledge was not enough to grasp an idea of what happened to them, all he can do is find more hints and figure out the full truth.

As he walked around, he noticed a pair of people at the other side, the striking blue jackets got his hopes up. Finally some living people from his school.

“Heeeey~ over here..!” Ritsu tried calling out to them. They were much more familiar as they got closer, the silver hair and orange were unmistakable, it was Sena and Leo.

“Kuma..kun..?”

“Secchan..!”

The two seniors ran over to the vampire, Leo even jumped to hug Ritsu. “Rittsuuuu~!!”

“Ou-sama get off, I’m injured.” Ritsu pushed him back.

“Shit, are you okay??” Sena started scanning Ritsu’s body, he noticed his posture was indeed different than usual.

“Got caught up in stuff.” Ritsu pushes back his sleeve to show the large, deep cut on his arm.

“Oh fuck.... that’s...” Sena’s face was uncomfortable, quickly holding his own hand as if that would happen to him too. Of course it’s a model’s biggest fear to get marks on their bodies.

“Ah and my back probably, couldn’t check by myself.” He lifts his shirt and jacket and turns around.

Sena gasps loudly, Leo mutters Ritsu’s name in sadness, from that he guesses that there probably is a bigger mark than he thought. “What..?”

“I’m... sorry Kuma-kun....” Sena apologizes from how bad he feels for his team mate. “The mark is so bad... how in hell did this even happen??”

“Spirits and stuff, slammed me to the wall I guess.” Ritsu didn’t even bother explaining everything, he’d rather not think of the whole thing that happened, especially with Hajime.

“Rittsu.. does it hurt..?” Leo wanted to touch his back, but Sena swatted his hand.

“Of course it’ll hurt him, you idiot!” Sena grabbed Leo’s wrist so he doesn’t keep trying to touch. “Anyways, if you don’t wanna tell the whole story, it’s fine, just tell us what you found out so far?”

“Hmm.. there were murders..”

“No shit, Kuma-kun.”

“No, I mean long ago.. the murders were of some kids, and based on the pictures I saw.... the kids are the spirits that are chasing everyone..”

Sena stared at him for a solid minute trying to take in what he meant and how this is supposed to even be significant to their problems. Ritsu thought he might be an idiot so he’d have to explain, but the taller boy quickly caught on.

“So there’s more to this then....” Sena was lost in deep thought from what Ritsu could see, he should also be thinking of ways to get out of here too. But from what he investigated thus far, a front door is definitely not their way out.

“Uh...” Leo spoke up. “Can... we look for Naru and the newbie...?”

“Ah, right.....” That reminded Ritsu of his original objective, finding Mao. “Can we find Maa-kun first...”

“Haah?” Sena wanted to argue, but stopped himself before realizing what happened last time, he doesn’t want Ritsu to run away again. “Look... we’ll search for both on the way, just.. stay calm.”

Ritsu nodded, he himself doesn’t even want to get separated anymore, not after the incident with poor Hajime. He will not let that happen again. After he finds Mao, he’ll sacrifice even himself for the sake of Mao’s safety. Even if it makes Mao sad... even if it makes him feel pain.. he will make sure he stays alive.

☆ ————————— ☆ 

Smoke lingers within his system, the light of the fire reflected on his glasses, it was a beautiful view, but dangerous nonetheless.

Tsumugi flipped through the tattered book he held in his hand, a diary, from what it looks like. “Hmm... Natsume-kun is much more skilled at this than I am..”

The fire was dazzling, it shined bright as the flames grew, engulfing the room at the slowest pace imaginable. Tsumugi knew no fear, that’s why he risked going into the library. He’s not important anyways, he thought, he’ll just get the important notes for Natsume so they can finally get out of this horrible place.

“To connect the dimensions... one must help spirits pass on in peace...” Tsumugi stared at the page, eyes not faltering for a single second. “Interesting.. this dimension talk is certainly new, this will surely cheer Natsume-kun up!”

The more he flipped through, the more information was provided, it was like a cheat book for a game, the information is so important, he couldn’t let anyone get their hands on it. Natsume-kun will save them all, so he’s the only one allowed to touch this other than Tsumugi himself.

“Ah.. instructions to the Sachiko Ever After Charm..?” Tsumugi focused on that page, Natsume had told him they did the ritual wrong, so maybe this could explain something he missed.

_________________________________

Entry no. #####

We’re performing the Sachiko Ever After Charm tomorrow.. I’m writing down the instructions just in case. Chant “Sachiko, we beg of you” once for each member, and once more for Sachiko’s spirit, that will fulfill the charm, but I need to meet ####### sensei, so I’ll perform it wrongly just to go to Heavenly Host. I’m finding sensei.

-Na## ######

_______________________________

“Eh......?” Tsumugi looks down with absolute shock. The charm was wrong the whole time. They had to chant once more for Sachiko’s spirit.... but that was never written on the charm instruction he found. “It.. couldn’t be...”

Was it accidental..? Was it on purpose? He had no idea, the blog he found it on had not been updated for a whole year, and the last thing on it was the Sachiko Charm instructions.. could it be that the blog owner suffered the same fate as well?

“Ah.. there’s more..?”

_______________________________

P.S: tell ##### to keep her scrap of the charm with her or else we won’t be able to go back home.  
_______________________________

Keeping a scrap.. Tsumugi quickly shuffled through his chest pocket and found his piece of the Sachiko charm. He looked at it for a while, so this is important to keep, isn’t it... he’ll have to tell all this information to Natsume later on.

Before Tsumugi could continue reading, the flames of the library, that the blue haired man himself forgot about, suddenly vanished, as if put out by a mysterious force. It was odd, Tsumugi stood there awkwardly, he had no idea what to do about it but stare. Could it be that this cursed school is trying to stop itself from crumbling down? That was actually a clever assumption. Tsumugi applauded himself internally and kept his train of thought running. He’s getting at a conclusion, isn’t he.

“I better get back to Natsume-kun and Sora-kun... this was a very good risk to take~!” Tsumugi takes the book with him, in case of other important information that could be hidden within it. “Gotta hurry~”

Stepping out of the library, he meets someone he didn’t expect to see, someone who he didn’t really know how to interact with without getting a scolding.

“Keito-kun?”

“So it WAS you, bastard.” Keito crossed his arms. “How could you even go into a flaming room without thinking, how incorrigible.”

“Uwaah~ don’t be so mean, Keito-kun!” Tsumugi pouted. “I did it for Natsume-kun, you know?”

“That disrespectful kid from the oddballs?” Keito shook his head. “Also, I do not recall you ever owning a pink notebook like that.”

“It’s from the library, it’s exactly what Natsume-kun needs to help us get out!”

“A book.. so I’m guessing it has a way out written..?” Keito reaches out to it. “May I see?”

Tsumugi suddenly felt threatened by that, backing away as he hugged the book, he gave Keito a suspicious look. “I.. can’t do that.”

“Why not, exactly?” Keito adjusted his glasses, giving Tsumugi a terrifying glare. “As student council vice president, I must at least get a hold of such information.”

“W-Why don’t you go back to your team mates..? I’m sure they must be worried..” Tsumugi tried to distract him. “I also have to get back to my juniors.. Sora-kun’s sick you know..?”

“Tch.. Aoba. If this book contains a way out, you MUST give it to me, it will save us all.”

“No!!! Y-You don’t get it!!” Tsumugi sputtered. “These are things only Natsume-kun can understand!!”

“Aoba. Hand it over.”

“Aaah..” Tsumugi couldn’t take it anymore. “Keito-kun. I won’t allow you to even touch it. Even if I have to go through killing you, which I really do not want to do.”

“A-Aoba!!” Keito was mad, but this isn’t Tsumugi’s problem. “You bastard, do you realize that you’re going to doom us all??”

“So be it... I won’t rest until I make sure Natsume-kun and Sora-kun get out first.”

“You...” Keito clenched his fists. “You’re going to end up killing everyone.”

“I already know I’m the source cause of this all..” Tsumugi soullessly stared off into the distance. “Natsume-kun’s friend is dead because of me. I feel nothing but guilt now. That’s why.. I’m doing my best to take as much sin off my shoulders..”

“You... what..?”

“That’s right.” Tsumugi smiled painfully. “It was all my fault.. ahaha..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen my man, tsumugi is trying his darn best
> 
> Twitter: @doesemily


	10. Revelations of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After long moments of pain and suffering, a shred of hope turns into pages of possibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been 255 slutty slutty years since I updated, it’s getting juicy folks.

Screams filled the hallway. Pained, agonizing screams. These were enough to send anyone into madness.

“PLEASE NO!! I BEG YOU!!” Natsume cried. “NO NO NO!!” 

“Goodbye, Sakasaki.”

........

Natsume was suddenly jolted awake by Sora, who was vigorously shaking him, and Natsume took a long minute to realize what’s happening. He was asleep..? And he had a nightmare it seems.. so does it mean.. the entire curse was a nightmare too? He looked around him quickly but that was just his hopeful thinking. He was in a nightmare alright. A never ending nightmare.

“Shishou.. were you having a bad dream..?” Sora innocently looked at his senpai.

“Sora... I’m... fiNE.. I guess I’m a little stRESSED..” Natsume rubbed the back of his head. He was sadly still stuck in this hellish school, and that horrible dream must have been his fears projected onto his mind. “Sora.. how did I fall ASLEEP?”

“Senpai told Sora that you were crying and fell asleep in his arms!” Sora smiles “Sora’s happy that you two are getting along!”

“Ah.” Natsume will have to punish Tsumugi for that later. But for now.. he remembered.. that’s right, his friend.. Subaru was dead.. and his other friend.. Hokuto.. he left him alone... despite the red head’s pleads and begging, Hokuto was determined to make sure his unit is safe, but Natsume knows he’ll just fall into despair after seeing Subaru’s body.. and if he gets exposed to the darkening.. there’s no more going back.

“Hokkee-kun...” Natsume’s eyes threaten to shed tears once more, but Natsume holds himself from crying. He tries to distract himself in any way possible, until he notices that a certain annoyance isn’t around here. “Where’s.. senPAI?”

“He went to the library! He asked Sora to take care of shishou!” Sora puffs his chest proudly.

“I see.. Sora.. do you FEEL better?” Natsume reached to pet Sora’s head.

“Sora’s head still hurts, but Sora got used to it!” 

“I’m sorry, just a LITTLE more and I promise to GET us all FREE...” Or at least Natsume hoped. He can never tell the future even with his spiritual powers.

The door to the room suddenly creaked open, giving Natsume a fright. The smell of blood started reeking inside, the fresh metallic scent made Natsume’s insides churn. At the door stood a completely bloodied up man from head to toe, if it weren’t for the annoying voice that Natsume knew too well, he would have never guessed who this terrifying looking person is.

“S....Senpai.....?” Natsume tried to stay calm.

“Ahaha~ sorry, Natsume-kun, I ran into a tiny problem but it’s all good now!” Tsumugi innocently smiled, as if he didn’t just come out of a slaughter house or something.

“Senpai...?” Sora lightly gasped. “W-Why.. are you covered in...”

“Blood? Just a little thing I got caught up in, don’t worry, Sora-kun~” Tsumugi laughed, which Natsume found quite eerie, and that’s truly saying something from Natsume himself, he always is viewed as the creepy kid of Switch.

Tsumugi looked horrifying with that smile and blood covered face, Natsume almost wanted to run away from that sight. He looked at the taller boy with suspicion, a ‘little thing’ he got into could no way result in this mess on his body. Blood splattered all over? He must have gotten into a situation real bad.

“Ah, that’s right, Natsume-kun, this might help you with finding an answer..!” Tsumugi pulled a small, pink notebook from the inside of his jacket, which also got splattered with blood it seems.

“And that IS..?” Natsume sighed.

“I think.. these are the instructions for escaping this place.” Tsumugi explained. “See? A whole bunch of information is in here, I couldn’t afford to let it slip away!”

Natsume took ahold of the little notebook and flipped through, a bit disgusted of the blood splatters. “You’re riGHT...”

The notes were packed all within this small book, and indeed they had all sorts of information, from deep explanations of the cursed charm, to how to use it and how to undo the curse. Now this is critical to keep, Natsume should probably thank his ever so useless senpai for not being useless for once.

“SenPAI... Would you like to exPLAIN yourself NOW?” Natsume reminded.

“Ahh, I think it’s best we don’t speak of that~” Tsumugi avoided the topic, which made Natsume’s suspicions go sky high.

“If you are trying to disMISS this topic, then it MUST be someTHING bad.” Natsume pointed out.

“N-Natsume-kun please..”

“Shishou... Senpai... don’t fight...” Sora ran in between the two so he could stop them, yet the look on Sora’s face was terrified.. scared... Natsume’s heart ached from that.

“Sora-kun, don’t worry~ We’re not fighting, correct? Natsume-kun?” Tsumugi tattled. His smug grin pissed off Natsume, but he didn’t want to trigger any bad reaction by hitting him now.

“Tch.. I see how it IS, senPAI.” Natsume scoffed. “WhatEVER. As long as you don’t HURT Sora or I, it is FINE.”

“Ahaha~ I’d never, I promise you!”

“Shut it.” Natsume snapped at him.

Tsumugi was hiding something, and whatever it was, it must be so bad that he had to even hide it from his own leader. Natsume will crack it out of him soon.. whether he likes it or whether he doesn’t.

☆ ———————— ☆

“K-K-KANATAAA!!” Chiaki called out. “WHERE ARE Y-YOU??”

Ryuseitai met up once more to look for the missing Kanata and Madara, with Chiaki scared to death and trembling, the first years had to calm him down or he might run away without realizing it. The four boys crossed every hall they could, and had no options but to head down stairs, thankfully, this set of stairs didn’t have any piano wires stopping them. By the corner, Shinobu notices something across the hall.

“C-Captain... dono...” Shinobu trailed off slowly.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Sengok-“ Chiaki stopped in his tracks as he came across a horrifying sight. “W-W-What.......”

“N-No way...” Tetora covers his mouth in shock.

Two bodies. Very familiar bodies. Both are his friends. Madara and Kanata, all bloodied up and lifeless on the floor. This cannot be happening. Chiaki fell to his knees and stared, his eyes wide open in shock, yet empty, filled with the void of despair. The two who were always beside him, helping and comforting him.. are dead?

“S-Shinkai... senpai..” Midori stares with despair in his eyes, the sight of his dead seniors was too much for him. “Ahh! S-Shinobu-kun don’t faint..!”

Midori rushed to the little ninja’s side to hold him before he could drop to the floor. This was reality, Chiaki couldn’t accept it despite convincing himself, that his hero friends died.. and that he couldn’t do anything to save them. He called himself a hero of justice, yet he couldn’t even.. be at their side...

“Captain..! D-Don’t look so much!!” Tetora tried to calm Chiaki down, knowing well how much Madara and Kanata truly mean to him, he knew Chiaki would be too shocked to handle this.

“Kanata..... Mikejima...” Chiaki’s eyes started welling up with tears without realizing.

“Shinobu-kun..? He fainted...” Midori scoops him into his arms and looks melancholically at the mess on the floor, how depressing..

“Nnh... *cough*“

The boys flinched as they heard a coughing fit beside them, their heads shot up only to see Kanata’s body shivering.. he was alive.

“Eh..?? K-KANATA!!!” Chiaki stumbled onto his feet, and ran to Kanata to hold him. “HANG IN THERE, PLEASE, KANATA!!”

Chiaki held Kanata to his chest tightly, shaking him, but in a gentle way so he doesn’t hurt him. Kanata’s breathing was shallow, and Chiaki panicked even more. With Midori and Tetora calling out to Kanata so he could snap into his senses, it left their leader in a stressful situation, what could he do to use this final chance of saving a comrade.

“C-Chiaki...?” Kanata lifted his head to meet his leader’s eyes. They were wet with tears all over, Chiaki didn’t even bother wiping them away.

“K-KANATA!! D-D-Don’t talk much!! T-Take deep s-slow breaths..!!” Chiaki stuttered on all his words.

“Chiaki... I am ‘fine’..” Kanata reached to wipe the tears off the other third year.

Chiaki clutched onto Kanata unconsciously, he was too afraid of letting go, too scared as if Kanata might disappear from him, not again, he couldn’t afford to lose him once more.

“Kanata..” Chiaki held himself back from breaking into sobbing. “Please.. stay alive, I’m begging you, please, please!”

“Ehehe.. Chiaki..” Kanata weakly chuckled. “You’re.. ‘very’ kind...”

Kanata cupped Chiaki’s cheeks with his cold, blood-covered hands, staining the beautiful almost tanned skin with a scarlet red. Ever so slowly, he pulled Chiaki closer and closer to his face, the distance in between their lips were just enough to kiss, and oh did Kanata crave it, he could just pull him and-

“W-Will Shinkai-senpai be alright..??” Midori interrupted Kanata’s train of love thoughts.

“What about Mikejima-senpai...?” Tetora glanced at Madara’s corpse, obviously nobody could survive whatever brutal fate it went through. “Is he.. really..”

“Dead..” Kanata continued it, staring at him with dead eyes. It must have been the right decision, isn’t that true?

“...That’s...” Chiaki’s eyes were troubled, it’s perfectly normal for him to get upset, his friend STILL died after all.

“Hnn..” Kanata tried to pull himself up, with Chiaki quick to notice and assist him, he got up to his feet, brushing away the messy locks of hair blocking his view.

“Kanata.. will you be okay..?” Chiaki voiced his concern.

“Don’t ‘worry’ about me~” Kanata gave his leader a warm smile to reassure him. It must have been hard on him to see a friend meet such a fate, death is inevitable, it has been taught in many households including the Shinkai household, the one that forced him to become a god, but that’s all in the past now, Kanata left it all behind. He left it all along with Madara, surely a choice he will never look back upon and ever regret.. yet his heart still aches.

“So... Mikejima-senpai... is really.. gone..?” Midori asks once more, not believing his eyes.

“Y-You’re kiddin’ me...” Tetora blurts out “you’re sayin’.. we might end up like this too..?!”

“H-Hey now.. n-nobody said that, Nagumo..!” Chiaki tried to calm the angered first year.

“Death.. is ‘unavoidable’...” Kanata eyed the shorter boy. “Madara.. he was ‘weak’.. but.. I am ‘not’... so I will protect you all.”

“What does that mean..?” Chiaki suddenly realized what connecting the pieces might lead to, was it always a good thing to piece together such information? Definitely not for Chiaki.

“Hey uh.. I hate to interrupt but.. Shinobu-kun is.. well..” Midori tried to gesture to the unconscious ninja in his arms.

“O-Oh! Umm, let’s get to a safe classroom or something and wait till he wakes up..!” Chiaki suggested.

“Fine... what about senpai here..” Tetora glances at the fallen senior.

“We cannot do ‘anything’ now, Tetora.” Kanata answers, brutally honest as always.

And so, the boys moved on, leaving all their prayers for the passed away senior who met an undeserving fate. What they never truly uncovered was how he met such damning fate. Perhaps it might be revealed eventually, but when that time arrives, Kanata will certainly be out of luck.

“Poor rogue...” Kanata slips the words out.

“Hm? Did you say something?” Chiaki looks at Kanata.

“Nothing~ puka puka~”

☆ —————————— ☆ 

“O-Oogami-senpai.. is it gone yet..?” Yuta shivered behind his big brother and senior whilst holding onto Tori’s hand.

“Shh.. it won’t fuckin’ leave..” Koga swore under his breath.

“I-It’ll be okay.. d-don’t worry, Yuta-kun.. Hime-kun..” Hinata tried to reassure the other first years, but he was already terrified himself, shaking to the boot.

A spirit stood wandering around near the classroom they settled on, and wouldn’t even leave, although it looked quite different this time, more mature, as well as its aura felt much more relaxed than the usual child spirits they encounter. It still held a threat to the boys as it might attack if they aren’t careful, nothing should be trusted in a world of corpses.

“Shit I got no choice but to fend that thing off.” Koga complained.

“N-N-No!!” Tori held onto Koga’s wrist to stop him from movement.

“L-Let go you shitty brat!!”

“Gaah quit yelling you dog! T-That ghost might find us!!”

“Tch, well sittin’ around doing jack shit nothing isn’t helping either.” Koga ripped Tori away from him.

“H-He’s right, Oogami-senpai!” Hinata chided in.

“Yeah!! We c-can’t risk it!” Yuta joined in.

Koga ignored all three of their pleads and swung open the door with as much force as he could produce, leading the other three to scramble back behind desks and hide. The ghost kept rounding a corpse on the floor, a corpse that seems to be buried in rubble.

“Hey YOU! Ya ain’t really gonna hurt anyone, are ya..”

“........” 

“Tch.. nothing to say, why did I even think it’ll reply.”

“Please.” The ghost suddenly spoke and turned around to face Koga.

“Geh! It t-talked..” The ghost seemed harmless, but the dead soulless eyes wasn’t really helping the case.

“Your charm piece...” the ghost pointed to Koga’s pocket.

“H-Huh..? What about it..” Koga unconsciously put his hand in his pocket to sense if it is there.

“Keep it like a memento.” The ghost smiled, but in a gentle way, as if it was actually taking care of a child. “Do not lose it.. or you’ll face harsh consequences from this world.. please..”

“W-What.. what do you mean..?” Koga took out his piece of the charm, it was a plain old paper, so why is a scrap of paper so important?

“It is your key to leave. Good luck..” the ghost smiled once more, its form showing more clearly now, a woman who resembled the corpse under the rubble, so it was a mourning spirit.. a victim.

“Y-You’re helping.. why?” Koga was confused, why would someone who died horribly even offer such advice. You’d think someone would want to take out their anger of dying on others, to enjoy watching them die too.. so why?

“You are still young for this horrible fate... survive and live long, young man.” She gently laughs as she fades away into nothing. It felt odd, but that kindness was reassuring at a time like this.

“O-Oogami-senpaaai are you still there..??” The sound of one of the twins rung out from the classroom.

“H-Hey doggie, bark if you’re dead..!” Tori rudely called.

“Shut the fuck up, brat!!” Koga walked back in, ready to fight.

“U-Uwaah!! D-Don’t hurt meeee!!” Tori hid behind Hinata and Yuta.

“Tch.. the ghost thing is gone and it told me important stuff I guess so listen up.” Koga coughed a little and spoke up. “Remember the dumb charm thing we did with everyone?”

“You mean that ugly paper doll? Then yes!” Tori answered whilst adding his unneeded opinion.

“That scrap of paper you got is important apparently, so you better keep it tucked or we might get into a fucked situation if not.” Koga pulled his scrap out from his pants pocket.

The twins followed his lead and pulled out their scraps from the inside of their jacket’s chest pocket, both safe and clear as they tuck it back in. Tori on the other hand kept fiddling with his jacket, a worried look growing into panic.

“Hime-kun..?” The twins stared nervously.

“E-Eh..? Eeeh...?? I had it.. I s-swear..!” He shoves his hands in his trousers’ pockets and flips them inside out only to meet disappointment. His heart drops instantly after realizing this means... he lost it.

“Oi, don’t tell me you...”

“N-No... I.. I swear it was here.. in my pocket.. i-it must have fell.. somewhere.. I..” Tori starts scavenging the floor in search of the scrap of paper, eyes growing teary.

“C-Calm down Hime-kun..!!” Hinata held the little boy’s hands. “I’m sure it’s somewhere around here, even if we don’t find it now, we will later!”

“We can try retracing our steps, is that okay, Oogami-senpai?” Yuta suggests.

“Tch, fine by me, we gotta meet up with that vampire bastard either way.” Koga scoffs and walks outside, looking back once so the rest could get the hint and move.

The creaking of their foot steps was already getting on Koga’s nerves, he was worried, terrified of what’s to come next, but he had to put up a brave face for the juniors, especially since two had to witness the death of the producer who nurtured the idols, and he had to make sure Tori could stay calm about his lost charm, Koga wasn’t sure what the charm is important for exactly, but that ghost told no lies, for sure.

“Senpai... what if I don’t find the charm..?” Tori asked for the impossible.

“...oi.. don’t sweat it.. we’ll find that crap fast.” Koga patted Tori’s head. “I promise ya..”

This was not only a promise for Tori, but for Hinata and Yuta as well, a promise to protect them, a promise to keep them alive.. as their senpai.

☆ ————————— ☆

“Naho Saenoki... She is quite a POPULAR paranormalist...” Natsume tapped his chin thoughtfully as he flipped through the pages of the notebook.

“Naho..? Ah that’s the owner of this thing?” Tsumugi leaned in to read alongside Natsume.

“She left quite the LIFE saving CLUES..”

The notebook was a serious life saver, despite it being quite vague in some pages, it was easily crackable by Natsume. The first step to bring this entire hell to an end was right within their hands, but it seemed like a very physical task, risky as well. The story was unfold right there, a murder taking place in Heavenly Host Elementary, four kids kidnapped, and a murderer who took their lives away, with one survivor. The murderer was a teacher at said elementary school, who ended up getting arrested, the question is, how it all ties in.

With a little more investigation, they found out much more information that could help them out. The world they are in is divided into multiple dimensions, each with its own designated time and space, and according to the notes, there is a method to bring back each dimension into one, which means that would connect the spaces that are separated, bringing everything each world has into one whole space, people and corpses included. This is efficient indeed, it brings them one step closer to their goal, which is reuniting with everyone who is lost in separate spaces.

“This is.. increDIBLE...” Natsume’s eyes widened at how much was hidden under their noses, so much knowledge that Natsume had hits of, but not the full information.

“Ahaha~ I’m glad I managed to find it for you!” Tsumugi laughed. “Even if there was a little casualty along the way..”

“Ahh so there WAS something up!” Natsume scolded, a casualty? That’s such a striking word yet an expected slip of the mouth from his senpai.

“N-Natsume-kun ignore that and focus please, Switch’s life is in your hand, right~?” Tsumugi averted the topic.

“Tch.. you LOW life WEASEL of a SENPAI.” Natsume scoffed, he’ll deal with this mess later, for now, safety comes first.

A doll, three bags of lost mementos, and a little search was a list of what’s written on one of the pages, right beside it was information about a doll, a scribble of the doll’s appearance was beside it too, slightly resembling Shu’s doll surprisingly. The doll.. it belonged to the killer, a gift given to him by his mother, the notes mention that it will tell of the whereabouts of the said bags of mementos, odd for a doll to speak, Natsume thought, but maybe he can’t really judge that right now. No information was given about the three bags of mementos, simply that they can be found by the doll.. which made no sense.

“It says HERE.. appease the SPIRITS..?” Natsume pondered.

“Shishou.. if there’s a doll, then where is it?” Sora asked, because surely they wouldn’t just happen to find a doll in the middle of a corpse riddled school.

“I do not know but we must SEARCH.” Natsume closed the notebook and tuck it in his pocket. “We have NO choice.”

“We’re leaving..?” Tsumugi questions.

“We sure are.”

Leaving no room for arguments, he walks out the door, adjusting his jacket properly. The time for games is over, once they re-connect the realms together, they could track down the source of discord within this hell. As Tsumugi and Sora follow after them, Natsume starts thinking up a plan, places where the doll could be found, where the bags of mementos could be, and what “appeasing the spirits” meant, he had to find out who the murderer is, and what the connection to this mess is.

There’s no room for fear now, he must put this all into action or they will all die, one by one.

☆ ———————————— ☆ 

The sound of tapping echoed and rung in Tsukasa’s ears, it was very annoying in fact, especially since he literally just woke up, head in absolute pain, and possibly brain shaken... hopefully not actually. The room’s smell was the definition of disgusting, absolutely horrible, and quite frankly, made him want to throw up, but he should probably hold that in for now.

“Nhh... what’s this HORRID smell..” Tsukasa tried to get up from where he’s laying down, but his head started ringing in pain. “Gaah... ow ow ow.. am I bleeding..?”

Tsukasa touched his head and looked at his hand that was soaked in blood, yep he definitely was. The bleeding made him feel lightheaded, he couldn’t remember anything at all, last thing he remembers was getting hugged by Arashi and.. then he can’t seem to recall the rest.

“Where am I anywa.... W-WHAT THE HELL..?!”

The bleeding on his head distracted him, but soon he realized what horrors were in the room. Bodies, everywhere, and he truly wished they were even intact, scattered limbs everywhere, buckets all around him filled with either hands, or decapitated heads, some only filled with blood, perhaps a better sight than the limbs. Looking down, he realized he’s sitting atop an operating table, his heart dropped as soon as he realized what this room is for.

“Y-You’re kidding me..” Tsukasa wanted nothing more than to get out of this room as of now.

Quickly hopping off the table, he steps on something squishy, which makes a soft splat noise. “E-Eww.. what did I step on..”

He looks down and sees a detached arm that looks disgustingly fresh, he probably wants to puke now, too bad there are no empty buckets except ones filled with organs. He looks around and notices a bunch of terrifying looking operation tools and.. more.. non-operation.. tools.. like, well, an entire axe, yeah that’s safe in an elementary school.

“What in the ever living hell is this place...”

Suddenly, loud familiar thuds echo outside, steps that reek the danger signals, steps that are practically screaming at Tsukasa to run away.. except the only exit is the way facing that incoming threat.

“SHIT AHHH W-WHAT DO I DO??” Tsukasa looks around terrified for his life, the closets are all filled up with bodies, and there are no other places to hide except... underneath the operation table. Surely younger him would have thought he’s perfectly hidden there, but maybe.. if he plays dead down there..

Without a second thought, he quickly ducks down into the space and lays there deadly still. Right beside him was a decapitated head of a school girl, the expression on her face was, how do you say, dead? Obviously she is, yet the expression alone sent shivers up the rich boy’s spine. The door swung open, and a tall figure of a man with a hammer walked in, it was hard to see what was happening but he could tell he had a sledgehammer due to him dragging it along the ground.

The figure walks closer to Tsukasa, and the boy wasn’t sure if his heartbeats were the ones attracting him closer. The man stopped at the operation table, and stood still for a little while, leaving Tsukasa anxious for his life. A few more seconds of nervousness were interrupted by a loud thud of something dropping directly in front of Tsukasa.. less of something, more of SOMEONE.

Tsukasa’s eyes widen as he covers his mouth to stop himself from gasping out loud. The body of a fellow first year was directly in front of him, he was from the opposing class but nevertheless, someone he truly respected... Hajime Shino.

So he ended up dying.. Tsukasa mourned his friend internally, at the moment, he was too scared to weep over him, his life was on the line as that terrifying figure stood upon him. Just WHAT is that thing, to roam around like this, it doesn’t belong in an elementary school, yet why..

Suddenly an arm reached down and grabbed at Hajime’s head, pulling him upwards, as it dragged his body along, but the force on his already broken neck was too much, causing it to snap off. Tsukasa held his shriek in as he shook there in fear while the blood started leaking out of the detached body, this is too scary, he can’t take this anymore, not like this, he can’t.. no..

The man’s hand went back down and carried the body up on the operation table, the blood drip from the edges, falling directly beside Tsukasa’s face. A sight like this will never get out of his head. He prayed hard to stay safe, his heart rate reaching impossibly high, and his body sweating like bullets, all he has to do is stay still until this thing leaves the room, then he could run, run as far as he can from this place to find Knights, he won’t die yet, he swears in the name of the Suou household.

A few more minutes of horror, with noises of cracking bones and sickening gore, the sounds went silent, and the man dropped all tools he held as he walked towards the door, grabbing his sledgehammer on the way. It was finally leaving, allowing Tsukasa to finally breathe again.

As soon as it slammed the door shut, Tsukasa quickly got up from underneath the table and wiped the dust off his uniform, he’s gonna need a long bath after this long mess. He looked at the operation table and immediately regretted it, poor Hajime’s body sprawled and messed up on the table... his head which was already detached looked shocked, just what did he go through.. his limbs cut off one by one and chest area all dug up, must have been from the tools this man used, it was a terrifying sight, not something you see even in horror movies.

Suddenly, Tsukasa felt much more lightheaded than usual, his vision went blurry and everything was bright, he must be fainting again.. but no.. not here.. not now..

“N..o.... hnn... gaah...” 

Barely in control of his body, last thing he could think of was escaping the room, as he fell to the floor with a loud thud. Seems like a harder task than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surpriiiise!  
> Pray i update soon
> 
> Twitter: @doesemily


	11. A Broken Clavier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A way out is graspable within their fingers, yet some hardships will still come along the way, and some hardships... are a little too difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter is extra long because I didn’t know where to cut it, take it as a good sign!

“Tomo-chin, is your arm better now..?” Nazuna tightens the piece of fabric he cut from his shirt on Tomoya’s arm.

“Hnn.. it’s.. kinda better..” Tomoya flinches at the touch. “Hey, can we look for Hajime..?”

“Ah... well..” Nazuna felt conflicted, after the little incident with Shu and Mika, things became a little hectic and heart crushing. The two boys rushed to the infirmary, but on the way, had met a boy who had faced a cruel, harsh fate. Mitsuru’s tattered body along the stairs was enough to push them off the edge, as the two lost it. Despite that, they kept moving forward, making their way to the infirmary, there weren’t any actual useable medical equipment, not even bandages, though even if there were, it would have been much too dirty for cleaning wounds. They settled on by having Nazuna cut a piece of his shirt’s cloth and use it as wrapping instead, better than having an open wound at least.

“Nii-chan?”

“Ah! S-Sorry I blanked out!” Nazuna nervously laughs. “Erm.. Tomo-chin.. I’m not sure if it’s safe for you to go out like this..”

“Huh? Why? I’m fine” Tomoya argued “,this wound is nothing, if I can’t handle something like this, then I can’t call myself strong..” 

“I understand your feelings, b-but I’m worried..!” Nazuna professed. “I don’t want you to end up like... M-Mitsuru-chin...”

Tomoya’s body shook at the name, a shock wave that reminded him how grim this place can be, a reminder that a close friend of his.. is dead. And it’s all his fault for not being able keep them together, right? Nazuna said it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but he still couldn’t help but take the blame.

“Hajime.. must be frightened right now...” Tomoya sadly sighed. “He’d be shivering in fear... all alone..”

Nazuna didn’t reply, the mood was too tense to form any sort of reply, reality set in and reminded them of how cruel this fate is, and how death was now a serious threat. At first, they were not all that affected by the whole dead bodies incident, they had hope that maybe it was a dream.. or a set up.. a prank perhaps? But no, it was nothing of the sort, and Mitsuru’s unfortunate death simply proves it.

Nazuna took a deep sigh and decided to keep the atmosphere quiet for now, it might ease their moods he thinks. The infirmary was oddly quiet and definitely eerie, the door was broken for some reason, and inside of the room reeked of fresh blood, it was no surprise of course, there was a big puddle of blood in the middle of the room too, so that might explain it. He just hopes it wasn’t someone they know, but that in itself is cruel thinking, because nobody deserves this sort of punishment.

“Nii-chan...” Tomoya broke the silence. “Do you think Ra*bits will ever stay the same way now that.. well.. you know..”

“That is....” it was a difficult question, the answer was as clear as day of course.. Ra*bits could never stay the same after the death of a member, it will always have this giant scar in it, always. “I’m not sure how to answer this for you, Tomo-chin, but.. I’m going to make sure.. that at least the remaining... are happy...”

“Remaining... huh.” Tomoya twiddled with the fabric of his clothes, trying to distract himself from the word, it’s so surreal realizing that there are people who will be gone from his life... forever.

“Tomo-chin look... We can go out to look for Hajime-chin.. but once you rest a little first.” Nazuna promises.

“...” It was a promise he wasn’t sure he couldn comply with, but he had to stay patient, for Hajime’s sake. “Fine...”

“Thank you, Tomo-chin..” Nazuna smiled and pat the younger boy’s head. “You’re a good kid.. stay that way, and please.. make Ra*bits shine.. even with the casualties we are forced to endure..”

“...I hope we can..” Tomoya grimly looks down as he thinks of how Ra*bits will be like after such an experience.. “huh..?”

“Tomo-chin?”

“There’s something.. on the floor.” Tomoya reaches down to get it and his heart almost drops realizing what this object is. “N-No...”

“What’s wrong..?” Nazuna leans in closer only to recognize what this means.

“This is.. Hajime’s pouch..” Tomoya flips and turns it around, the scent of it has faded due to the immense blood covering it, tainting its beauty. “W-Why.. is it bloody..”

“Hajime-chin.. he must have been here!” Nazuna confirms.

“I’m sorry Nii-chan, we can’t sit here anymore, I have to go look for Hajime, he’s in danger.” Tomoya got up, flinching a little from the sudden movement but ignoring it nonetheless.

“W-Wait listen!!” Nazuna stopped him before he could leave. “I’m coming too... if you won’t listen to me then I should at least make sure you stay safe..”

“Ah.... S-Sorry.. I got too rash, Nii-chan... but thank you, please.. let’s look for Hajime.. I beg you..” Tomoya grabs Nazuna’s hand and looks at him with a determined face.

“Mhm... Let’s go.” Nazuna nods.

They don’t know Hajime’s state for sure, but he must be in danger, it’s the only conclusion they could determine from that bloody pouch. Either in danger or.... dead. But the latter was not an option in their book, they have to find him alive, they have to!

☆ ————————— ☆

“Damned doll...” Hokuto squeezes an old doll in his hand, that simply cries out. “This thing keeps making noises whenever I’m on this floor..”

After Hokuto left behind Natsume and the rest of Switch, he managed to find a way into the upper floor, where he encountered a creepy looking doll beneath a set of floorboards that he tripped on. It looks like something a child might have brought here by accident, but as soon as Hokuto held it, something about its aura told Hokuto it might be important. Reluctantly keeping it, he moved along the new floor with the doll in his hand, until it started weeping at certain locations, he concluded that something must be up with it.

“*weep* *weep*” the doll cried out in that unusual voice of it. It sure sent the creeps up Hokuto’s spine at first, but now it just got extremely annoying.

“The hell do you want!” Hokuto snapped. “Why did I even get you..”

“Near.... stairs....” The doll spoke out, surprising Hokuto.

“W-What..?” He held the doll closer so he could understand.

“Near... stairs... nine... steps..”

“Nine.. steps?? What do you mean..?” He shook the doll gently but got no response besides some more annoying weeping.

In this case, he might have to just use logical thinking to figure this one out. Nine steps was oddly specific, and it also mentioned something about being near some stairs, perhaps it meant the stairs he came out from that connect to the lower floors. It DID start making noise whenever he passes by those stairs.. so something has to be hidden there.

As he approached the stairs, the doll began weeping once more in its awfully creepy voice, at this point Hokuto really wanted to throw away this dumb thing. Hokuto walked around in circles trying to figure out what it could ever mean, from what Hokuto gathered, it could most likely mean nine steps away from the stairs, but the question was, which way. There wasn’t even anything near the stairs, unless... it was buried under a floorboard similar to how the doll was.

He quickly scavenged around the area of the stairs, but nothing turned up, nothing but dirt and occasional blood if he were near a body, disgusting as it is, he searched anyways. It was tiring, he had already been tired ever since that hit to the head anyways, and every time he remembers it, his head aches, perhaps it’s best he thinks of something else for now. Hokuto gathered a breath and decided to take a small break, he sat on the stairs to relax a little until an unnatural creak stopped him.

“What the..” Hokuto got up from the step he was sitting on only to realize that it was weirdly bent, as if something was buried in... “could it be..”

Hokuto looked at the stairs and counted each step, it was on the ninth step indeed. The dark haired boy went down on his knees to break off the loose floorboard step, it was a bit tough and stubbornly fixated despite all that. A little more pulling and struggling managed to break off the piece however, sending Hokuto to stumble back a few steps. Moving back, he notices something red in the place of the missing plank, from what it seems, it looks like a harmless bag, or so one would think if it weren’t from how soaking wet with blood it was.

“Ugh.. disgusting...” Hokuto inspects closer, he notices a name tag on the bloody little bag. Ryou Yoshizawa. Class 3-5. Heavenly Host Elementary. It wasn’t a name he recognized, mostly due to it being a child’s name from an elementary school, but not any elementary school... it was this one.. the cursed one he and his friends are forced to endure.

Hokuto reluctantly held the bag as he watched it drip with blood, it was most definitely disturbing to even look at, what is inside will surely be an unpleasant surprise for him. Ever so slowly, he pulls on the small pouch’s strings to open it, and it sure smelled horrible he must add.  
Just inside this bag rest an object that flipped Hokuto’s stomach up so bad, he probably internally threw up at this point. A severed human tongue, you don’t see that everyday now.

“W-WHAT THE HELL IS THIS??” Absolutely mortified by it, he quickly closes the bag and ponders what it’s even useful for. That’s when he hears a set of steps coming close, someone’s here.

“Tch.. I’m gonna have to hold onto this for now..” He shoves the bag into his jacket’s pocket, reminding himself to wash his clothes when he comes home, IF he comes home.

As the steps get closer, he realizes they are coming from the floor above, just near the stairs, a couple of students show up, and he would be lying if he didn’t recognize them at all. Switch ended up coming out of their hiding spot after all.

“Ugh, be patient WILL you senP- Ah..?” Natsume looks down and notices the boy from Trickstar. “N-No way..”

“Ah, Sakasaki, we meet again it seems.” Hokuto sighs.

“H-Hokkee...Kun.....” Natsume’s eyes glitter as they start filling up with tears. “HOKKEE-KUUUUUN!!”

“H-Huh?”

Natsume jumps down the few steps onto Hokuto, hugging him in a deadly tight grip. His sobbing smearing all over the other boy’s uniform, yeah he seriously needs to wash these clothes later at home.

“IDIOOOOT!!” Natsume sobbed. “I THOUGHT YOU’D BE A GONER..!”

“Wha.. I’m careful you know.” Hokuto felt awkward with Natsume clinging tightly onto his waist. “Sakasaki.. let go..”

“NO!!” Natsume cried harder, this was a surprising side that Hokuto had never seen from Natsume of all people. Usually he would be sadistic and carefree, not sensitive as he is now, but it was expected.. to be stuck in a corpse wasteland was a big hit to the nerves.

“S-Sakasaki...” Hokuto tried to push Natsume off his chest a little, but he felt bad for an odd reason. “C-Come on you’re not acting like your usual self..”

“I’m.. HAPPY... Please.. Hokkee-KUN.. don’t go... I beg YOU..” Natsume pushed his whole body to rest on Hokuto, in which made the latter feel flustered.

“I-.... I’m sorry, this is about leaving, isn’t it..” Hokuto finally let his stiffness loose and hugged back the shorter boy. “I’m.. at fault.. I didn’t think through my decision.. I... acted on impulse..”

“Hokkee-kun...” Natsume sniffled.

“Please.. don’t cry, Sakasaki.” Hokuto smiles gently.

Natsume looks up, trying his best to stop crying so much. He lets go of Hokuto’s body reluctantly, and tries his best to muster up a smile for him. Hokuto scavenges his chest pocket for his handkerchief and offers it to Natsume to wipe his wet cheeks, in which the latter takes up, blushing from shame.

“Ahh.. I really do wish I had a camera..” Tsumugi, who Hokuto didn’t notice, whispers to Sora, who he didn’t notice as well.

“SenPAI.....” Natsume turns around and raises his fist. “I heard THAT.”

“Uwaaah~!! D-Don’t beat me now, I was just kidding..!!” Tsumugi apologizes.

“Shishou’s colors are warm.. Sora likes that color very much!” Sora laughs, to Natsume’s embarrassment.

“E-Enough..!” Natsume shushes everyone to draw away attention from the scene that just occurred. “Ahem, Hokkee-kun.. don’t LEAVE, I have the WAY out.”

“Huh..? What do you mea- Wait..!” Hokuto’s eyes widen, “could it be you figured out an exit..?”

“That’s right, thanks to senPAI, I found a SOLUTION to leave.” Natsume’s face twists into a troubled expression. “Although, we have not the SLIGHTEST clue as to where we could FIND a certain obJECT.”

“Oh..? Mind if you explain it then? Or is it too time consuming?” Hokuto asks.

“Not at ALL, I shall explain.. listen CLOSE.”

Natsume goes ahead to explain the circumstances they all face here, from the separate closed spaces, to the vengeful spirits, and how to return to the real world along with the requirements. Hokuto barely manages to take in the shocking information, who would have thunk a charm made of paper could bring them to a world of death so easily.. he shouldn’t have underestimated spiritual charms after all.

“And that’s why, we must START by finding the murderer’s DOLL, it is said to give us the hints we NEED.”

“Doll.. Ah, I completely forgot about that irritating thing..!” Hokuto pulls the dirty doll out from the inside of his coat, it seems to have stopped weeping, must be why he forgot about its existence.

“That’s it..!” Natsume takes ahold of it from Hokuto’s hands. “My, I must say, it REEKS of CREEPINESS..”

“Surprising to hear that from you of all people..” Hokuto comments.

“Your QUIRKY little comments are UNNECESSARY, Hokkee-KUN.” Natsume spares the taller boy’s words for now.

“Shishou... This doll... it has a color radiating from it for some reason..” Sora reveals.

“Color..? Yet it is INANIMATE.. Sora, what COLOR do you see?” Natsume asks as he brings the doll closer for Sora to inspect.

“It’s... a weird.. prickly color... Sora isn’t sure how to describe it but the color is very sad yet dark and oddly red at the same time.”

“Ehh, prickly?” Tsumugi ponders “Could it be this doll is possessed?”

“It was speaking beforehand actually.” Hokuto explains. “It kept making crying noises whenever I had passed this set of stairs, then gave some sort of hint about the location of... something awful.”

“Hmm~? InteRESTING to hear, what MIGHT that awful thing BE?” Natsume curiously takes it into note.

“You don’t wanna know, it was some disgusting bag that’s all-“

“Bag?? Could that BE..!”

“Natsume-kun, didn’t the book say the doll would tell you where the bags of mementos are?” Tsumugi reminded him.

“Hokkee-KUN I must SEE the bag, pleASE.” Natsume commands.

“A-Are you sure you even want to..” Hokuto warned the shorter boy. “It wasn’t very pleasant to look at.”

“Just HAND it over.”

Hokuto shrugs and takes the bag out, handing it off to Natsume, who inspects it closely. He mutters something to himself that Hokuto couldn’t quite hear before loosening the string that held the bag intact. Upon opening it, Natsume takes a curious peek inside, and Hokuto could tell when he realizes what rest in the bag based on Natsume’s facial expression.

“How PUTRID..” Natsume’s face twists with disgust, he seems more grossed out than surprised. “But.. I believe I have an IDEA to what comes NEXT.”

“And that is..?” Hokuto gulps silently, he’s not sure how this all connects to a bag with an internal part.

“Appease the SPIRIT.” Natsume brings out a pink notebook and flips through it at a fast pace, until he finds the page he wants, pressing his finger on it. “There are three SPIRITS, two of which are FEMALE, and another child who is MALE.”

“Ah, so this bag must belong to the male if we base it on the name!” Tsumugi suggests his solution.

“Could BE.” Natsume nods in agreement. “Sora, could you TELL me if you SENSE any COLORS from this?”

“Sora will try his best!” Sora grabs the bag from Natsume’s hand, and looks closely at it, analyzing the name, and even peeking inside the bag to look at the tongue. “Yuck.. Sora can tell there’s a tiny color, a really reaaaally prickly one, more than the doll!”

“I see, thank YOU Sora.” Natsume pat the little first year’s head.

“There’s more though!” Sora stops him. “It’s also a really scared color.. Sora doesn’t know how to explain..”

“That’s okay, Sora-kun~” Tsumugi reassures the young boy. “I’m sure we’re set for now, we just need to find this spirit, correct?”

“Yes.. but before we PROCEED..” Natsume glared directly into the tall boy’s eyes. “You killed someone, DIDN’T you, SENPAI.”

“Such accusations..! I could never-“

“Quit your tomfoolery and SPEAK UP.”

“Sakasaki..? What’s going on..?” Hokuto realized he got himself hooked in the middle of something probably too personal.

“Shishou...” Sora looks at the two in melancholy, he must have already caught on a long time ago.

“Aw.. It seems I can’t hide it from Natsume-kun..” Tsumugi adjusts his glasses with a smile. “I’ve always knew you were the type to care though~”

“Who did you MEET along the way.”

“An old friend, no one you would really care about, I know your friends after all!” Tsumugi giggles. “I must say, I’m very proud that Natsume-kun is making lots of friends!”

“Shut UP and TELL ME.” Natsume snapped at him.

“My my, you’re too pushy, where did the gentle Natsume-chan go..” Tsumugi joked, to which Natsume glared harder at. “Well.. if you really wanna know what actually happened..”

Tsumugi paused, silence overtaking the group, leaving Hokuto awfully tense, as well as Natsume really eager for an answer.

“SHISHOU!!” Sora suddenly broke the intense silence. “I-I can feel it!! The same color from earlier.. I know where it is!”

“Huh?” The three other boys look at Sora in surprise.

“It’s.. this way!!” Sora runs off down the stairs, without clarifying a single thing to the others.

“W-Wait!! SORAAA!! Don’t run off!!” Natsume throws the conversation from before completely off the track to chase after Sora, the other two shortly following in his tracks.

“Sakasaki!! Tell me what’s going on!” Hokuto demands as he tries catching up to Natsume.

Natsume ignored him, too desperate to assure Sora’s safety, Natsume is always like that, always so dodgy, never tells him anything straightforward, even when he still doesn’t know what happened to his friends.. to Subaru..

“Sakasaki.. why won’t you tell me..”

☆ ———————— ☆ 

“Wahaha~! Look what I’ve found!” Leo laughs proudly. “Senaaa, Rittsuuu!!”

“Can you not yell, Ou-sama..” Ritsu yawns, following Leo to look at his discovery.

“Ah, a music room.” Sena looks through the door’s foggy window which is obvious enough to show a large piano on the inside. “I know what you want, Ou-sama, but it’s not happening so give it up.”

“Ghh! No one asked you, meanie!!” Leo stuck his tongue out at Sena. “Besides, Rittsu~ don’t you wanna try it? You’re good at piano!”

“Nope.” Ritsu straightforwardly refuses.

“R-Rejected!!” Leo sighs. “Ahhh such rejection.. I feel.. INSPIRATION FLOWING~!!”

“Can you not be an idiot for a minute please.” Sena lightly hits Leo on the head. “We ARE in danger, you know.”

“Yeah yeah, and we gotta look for Naru and newbie too. Sooo~ annoying~” Leo says in a voice imitating Sena to mock him.

“On second thought I’m gonna leave your annoying ass here!” Sena yells at Leo.

“Heey, while you two bicker here, I’m going to check the music room.” Ritsu ignored the arguments from the two seniors and swung open the door, taking a few steps inside.

“Hm..” The room was quite ordinary for a place like this, desks and chairs were scattered about, with musical sheets all over the floor and around the tables. At the end of the room was a normal grand piano, a bit dusty but looks like it’s in good state and ready to be played on. The room’s chalk board was full of unidentifiable scribbles and the such, nothing that could make any sense nor might seem very useful.

“Rittsu~? Did you find anything?” Leo strolls in, with Sena shortly following behind.

“Nah, just a piano like you said.” Ritsu approaches the grand piano and slides his index finger across the page holder of it, caking his entire finger with dust. “Ew.”

“Hmm~ so nothing important, what about those weird chalk marks on the chalkboard?” Sena maneuvers his way around the scattered desks to the board, squinting in a way to make sense of the writing.

“Oooh!!” Leo showcases his surprise. “That’s...!”

“Do you understand it, Ou-sama?” Sena’s eyes widen.

“Heh~” Leo grins. “Not at all.”

“Then shut up, you dumbass!!” Sena gives Leo another soft yet still painful punch to his back. “We’re not here to mess around!”

“G-Guys..” Ritsu suddenly pauses in his tracks. “I’m... not seeing things... right?”

Ritsu points to the keys of the piano, the other two are slightly confused until a sudden melody begins to play, the sounds are coming from one source: The piano.

“W-What the hell, the keys are moving on their own accord..?” Sena backs up instinctively.

“This melody.. I’ve never heard this before..” Leo points out.

The melody was quite eerie in fact, and very unsettling, it made Ritsu of all people feel goosebumps all over his body. Could a spirit be lingering nearby..? But that would mean..!

“We need to leave, right now!!” Ritsu warns the two boys.

“Huh..?? But what about the scribbles here, I’m sure they prooobably mean something!” Leo reminded Ritsu, but right now it’s not important, they have to get out this instant.

“Kuma-kun, you two get out, I’ll investigate.” Sena insists. “If things get dangerous, I’ll call out.”

“Secchan, this isn’t what you think it is, please.. listen to me!” Ritsu panics, he cannot afford to lose another friend, not after the incident with Hajime, he has to protect what he has left.

“If Sena wants to stay then I’ll stay too!” Leo pouts. “I’m not leaving my knights back!”

“Enough you two!! Just listen to me! I didn’t lose Haa-kun for this to repeat!!” Ritsu was on the verge of breaking down, all the memories are rushing straight to him.

“H-Huh..? Kuma-kun.. did..”

“Haa-kun... he fell victim to this... all because he was too naive..” Ritsu clenches his fists, he tried his best not to tear up again. “I don’t.. want you all to die from the same mistake..”

“K-Kuma-kun... I’m sorry...” Sena apologizes, as he glances at Leo and nods at him, trying to get him to do the same thing as well.

“Rittsu.. I didn’t know.. we’re sorry..!” Leo bows down apologetically. “L-Let’s leave cuz the piano’s getting a little angry I think!”

That’s true, the playing has become awfully distorted, as if it has been angered by the lots that barged upon the room. Without any word, Ritsu made his way for the door, with Sena and Leo following along, the desks slowing down their movements were not that favorable, the way they were set up, almost as if it could be a trap... a trap?! The door.. it was closing!

“THE DOOR!!” Ritsu yelled as he leaped atop the desks, trying to get to the exit faster. “HURRY UP SECCHAN, OU-SAMA!!”

“FUCK!!” Sena rushes alongside Leo and tries to push the desks in the way. Just barely, he exits through. “OU-SAMA!!”

“I-I’m comi- AHHH!” Leo screams as he slips on a sheet of paper on the floor and collides his head against a desk, falling to the floor face-first. Suddenly, two little spirits show up, children it seems, a short boy and an eyeless little girl, both who donned an eerie wide smile on their faces.

“OU-SAMAAA!!” Sena yells in terror as the door shut on his face. “NO NO NOOO!! OU-SAMAAAAA!!”

“NO!!!” Ritsu screams, he bangs on the door as hard as he can to get the spirits to come his direction instead, alas it didn’t seem to be any simple task. “OPEN THE DOOR!!”

“THESE FUCKING BASTARDS!!!” Sena fiddles with the door’s handle and tries twisting it open, but it feels as if it was just an ornament fixated on the wall.

“T-THE WINDOWS, SECCHAN!” Ritsu points to the foggy glass window. “T-Try breaking it so we can open from the inside!”

“Hell.. here goes nothing!” Sena rolls his sleeve back, and gathers all his might, bringing his fist with all power to the window shield, with a loud thud. “OW FUCKING HELL IT HURTS!!”

“SECCHAN!!”

The glass was barely, if not, scratched, and now Sena’s fist was bleeding as well, things were not going too well, maybe Sena didn’t use all his force, perhaps Ritsu has to help him break it down.

“S-Secchan, we’ll try at the same time!!”

Meanwhile, Leo was struggling inside the locked room as he shivers helpless on the cold hard floor, along the two spirits that look down on him, not a shred of mercy in those dark eyes of theirs.

“G-GET AWAY!!” Leo shifts himself a tad further away from the ghost children, his face was pale white from fear, his own arms and legs wouldn’t even move at all.

The spirits merely giggled as they approached him, holding a pair of scissors that are doused in blood, Leo doesn’t even want to think of who’s blood that is, or how many lives were taken by it, is his life next?

“Ehehe~ big.. bwo..!” The childish spirits laughed at Leo, they looked down upon him as if he were a bug that was stuck in a spider’s web, he quaked in his place, thrashing about and trying to fight back. But.. he really is a troublesome king wasn’t he..?

“Eek!” Leo threw his fist with a punch at the male spirit, only for it to be easily stopped by it. “M-MY HAND! LET GOO!!”

Leo kept screaming, he was hearing every sound of panic possible in this moment, his heart was pounding, his ears were ringing, the children were giggling as if this were a game, and the sounds of banging on glass could be heard, which Leo assumes is Sena and Ritsu trying to break the glass down. Leo’s wrist began aching as the spirit asserted more pressure on it, and the more Leo squirmed, the harder the grip got, until he could no longer feel anything. Or that was what he thought.

“AAAAAAGGHHHHHH!!” Leo yelled in agony as the spirit snapped his wrist, breaking it as if it has been pulverized on the inside. Blood sprayed out from his arm as the little boy twisted it further around, deeming it useless to ever work again. Leo kept screaming continuously, his voice cracking awfully when his vocal cords cannot handle it anymore. Taking that as a chance, the female ghost brought her sharp yet rusty scissors straight into Leo’s chest, causing his screams to erupt further.

“OU-SAMAAAAAA!! NO NO NO!! STOP PLEASE! I BEG YOUUUU!!!” Sena could be heard from outside, he must be observing everything that is occurring in this room.

Leo couldn’t hear anything anymore after that last sentence from Sena, it must be either because his own screaming is cancelling out the white noise, or the pressure is rising all the way to his ears. Either way, that wasn’t the only broken sense of his, he couldn’t feel much pain anymore, but he could vaguely see a spirit stabbing into him repeatedly, his vision is going blurry and white, it feels like that unfortunate day back in the archery club.

...  
.....  
........

“Leo-kun, you shouldn’t move so much when your arm is broken like that.” Sena sighed, as he adjusted the familiar blue tie of his. “I can’t believe I’M the one who has to take care of an idiot like you.”

“Wahaha~! You should be glad to take care of a king like me!” Leo laughed proudly.

“Hey stop moving! Ugh it’s all your fault we’re stuck here, you just HAD to pick a fight and get your arm broken like that.” Sena scolded Leo.

“Hmm~ Sena.. you’re too mean!” Leo pouted, as he recalled the events that truly happened that day. That’s right, he broke his arm protecting a kitten that was in the archery dojo, delinquents tried to hurt it, what else could he have done.

........  
.....  
...

His wrist began aching again as Leo recalled these memories, this pain, it was much familiar to that time.. and the pain in his chest, despite the external bleeding and stabbing from the merciless child, it was very similar to his regrets back then. Ah, how unruly for a king to fall once more. His vision is completely whitened out now, the noises are nothing but buzzing in his ears that’s slowly fading away. He couldn’t feel his limbs anymore, the pain was finally over, but this just means he won’t see Sena and the rest anymore. That’s unfortunate.

“NOO!! OU-SAMA DON’T DIE, PLEASE NOOOO!!” Sena pleaded, his hand was dripping with his own blood, so as Ritsu, who was far too afraid to even look through the foggy glass, too afraid to see the sight of another close friend dying.

Sena kept hitting and kicking the door, but it was much too useless, he himself knew it, but he was just in denial, he couldn’t handle taking in the dark truth. The truth that Leo Tsukinaga, King of Knights, is dead. Ritsu fell to the floor and covered his face with his hands, he couldn’t take it anymore, it was too much... too much to handle.

“WHYYYY!!” Ritsu broke out into a sobbing fit. “I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO DIE ANYMOOOORE!”

Sena’s kicking has settled down a little more, he’s aimlessly throwing more effortless hits at the door, obviously lacking anymore motivation. He looks soullessly at the glass window, it’s a little blurry yet tremendously clear of what happened in there. It was quite a brutal work, and it doesn’t seem like they intend on feeling any empathy for the victims.

“Hey...... open up already...” Sena whispered to no one. “Leo-kun.... you idiot...”

Sena whimpered, he stopped all his movement and merely sat on the floor. His face was blank, devoid of all life, he lost someone very important to him, he couldn’t protect his king for the second time, he was a failure, who failed to protect Leo.. to protect Arashi... and Tsukasa... everyone, he couldn’t protect anyone, and next in line was... Makoto most likely. He was the only hope left in Sena’s life, the one and only person that really kept him going, he had to keep him safe at least.

“Kuma-kun... get up.” Sena stood up from his place, his legs barely supporting him. “Let’s... find Trickstar... Yuu-kun is waiting for me.”

“H-Huh..? What about.. Ou-sama.. we’re just gonna leave him there?!” Ritsu raised his voice at Sena. 

“He’s dead. We can’t do anything now.” Sena shot Ritsu with the awful truth. “I’m moving, so you either catch up or sit alone.”

Sena, without a second thought, moved on his own accord. Ritsu stumbled back on his feet and tried wiping his tears away with his sleeve. He walked over to the door and noticed it was finally unlocked. Not wanting to have Sena witness anything, he shifts the door open a little and takes a peek.

There on the floor lie their passed leader, a gruesome death far too cruel for a person like Leo. His wrist was lodged off completely, and his chest was a mess, as if it was dug out, the spirits sure didn’t go easy at all. Leo’s face had a very painful expression, he could tell it was not a very peaceful death at all. Cruel... so cruel... nobody deserves such a fate as this. Ritsu bites his lip in regret, entering the room, he kneels down beside Leo and shuts the deceased boy’s eyes closed, at least he should look sophisticated.. like a king.

Ritsu heavily sighs and leaves the room, quietly shutting the door to catch up to Sena. “Good night to you as well... Ou-sama.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, you must be thinking about me as you say “Some crimes can never be forgiven.” With a gun to my head but you know what that’s fair
> 
> Twitter: doesemily


	12. World Of Upheaval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After sensing the lost spirit’s sorrowful soul wandering; Natsume finally approaches it, deeming the task of appeasing harder than he had thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Natsume and gang are back to fuck shit up, you’ll be seeing lots of them, consider them the Ayumi of this au

Fast-paced footsteps echo loudly as the three boys chase after Sora, who had interrupted the previous banter between Tsumugi and Natsume, and Hokuto, who had been dragged into this mess, ends up accompanying the Switch members.

“Aahhh! Sora-kun is very agile!” Tsumugi’s running out of breath. “Please Sora-kun! Slow down!”

“Shishou!! It’s this way!!” Sora ignores Tsumugi’s pleads and runs quicker, seemingly heading to quite a secluded area.. a hallway with a dead end.

Sora stops in his tracks and looks around with a puzzled expression stapled on his face. Shortly the three other boys arrive, panting and taking their breaths from running for long. The hallway leads to absolutely nowhere, as well as there seems to be nothing much too abnormal about it, the wall was of course as one would expect of a haunted world as this, tattered to the brim and in hideous state just like the remains of the entire school, the floors were broken down in each floorboard and bloodied up as usual. There was nothing odd about this little corner.

“Hm..? This is weird.. Sora could swear he sensed someone..!” Sora hums dissatisfied at the outcome.

“*Huff* ... *huuff*.... Sora-kun...” Tsumugi wipes the sweat off his forehead. “Are you sure this is where you sensed it..?”

“Mhm!! Sora can still feel it too!” Sora insisted.

“Weird... this IS a DEAD end.. so perhaps..” Natsume thought out loud “Is the spirit.. HIDING?”

“Huh? Why would a ghost hide, pretty sure it’d kill us first.” Hokuto pointed out the obvious.

Hokuto was right, of course, it really looks like the ghosts in this place had been committing nothing but senseless killing and all sorts of violent pranks... can it even be called a prank, more like crimes. Natsume walked around in small circles trying to fixate his thinking on a more plausible solution to all this, yet nothing was coming in mind. Perhaps the doll, that contained the regrets of the initial murderer of these kids, held them back and had them terrified? Or it could be something as simple as.... well, planning a sneak attack.

“SAKASAKI!” Hokuto yells out, in which causes Natsume to let out an embarrassing yelp. “I-Is that the one..!?”

Natsume turns around for a little big surprise, his breath hitches and his heart rate reaches sky high. Right before him stood a little glowing child, who wore quite a sullen expression on his face, as if he were to have no emotions. Natsume was shaking, he wouldn’t have ever thought he’d be face-to-face with a ghost in his entire life, this world was such a realm of possibility after all.

Everyone was panicked, for the spirit to suddenly show itself means they need to start taking action immediately with no questions asked. Hokuto scavenged around his jacket to take the morbid bag of tongue out, trying his best not drop the aforementioned bag, that is if his hands do support him at all.

“S-Shishou... that’s... him..” Sora, who sounded mortified, pointed out.

“I-I... see.. Hokkee-KUN.. the bag pleASE..” Natsume, who didn’t break eye contact with the little boy, gestured his hands so Hokuto could hand him the tongue bag.... yet Hokuto didn’t respond? “Hokkee-KUN.. the bag, hurry UP..!”

“Shishou..” Sora suddenly called out, his voice broken for some reason.

“Hmm..? W-What is it SORA?” Natsume hesitated to turn around and face the first year, his eyes were glued onto the spirit in front him him, it lured him into those big, empty spaces, almost like a crystal ball that has not been polished for years. Suddenly, said spirit gave a small, yet twisted smile, as if to mock Natsume.

“Shi...shou....”

“Sora..?” Natsume snapped his eyes away from the spirit to heed to Sora’s needs, as he certainly grew worried about his junior. Sora was standing there silently, looking afar into nothingness, his pupils dilated bizarrely, the sight sends shivers down Natsume’s spine. “What’s wrON-“

Before Natsume had even a shred of a chance to complete his sentence, the sound of a silver slash rung through Natsume’s ears, and the next thing he could see was red, a dark, shining, dazzling red emitting out of the first year, in which had marvelously tainted the second year’s vision, such a grim, sorrowful color. Sora’s upper body was completely slashed off, his blood and guts gush out like fireworks, all onto Natsume’s face and body, as well as painting the walls and floor a deep scarlet red. Sora’s upper half lands on the floor with a loud, mortifying thud, along with the sounds of his insides still spraying out blood. With a finale of Sora’s lower half dropping down, getting painted a cruel color of death along the rest of his remains.

“A-Ahh...” Natsume glances down, his voice refuses to get out of his system. “Aah... aaaahhh.....Sora...?”

Natsume struggles to breathe, the level of shock blocking his whole nervous system from functioning, as if the cords were cut off. Slowly, Natsume turns his head around to look at the reactions of his classmate and unit mate until a brick of horror strikes him. The two boys’ bodies, cut up in a similar way to Sora, laying on the ground, blood spilling out of them endlessly. Tsumugi’s decapitated head bore an expression of shock, as for Hokuto, who had his entire body cut up, a sight too morbid to look at for long. It seems despite all the hell he saw, this was something that can never dare to compare.

“Aaahh... aaaaahh... Aaaaahhhh....!AAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHH!!!” Natsume screams for his life, he clutches his hair trying to make sense of the situation, his head hurt badly, his eyes stung from all the tears flowing out, he screamed fearfully, his vocal cords could not even support him anymore, he could be screaming out with no voice for all he could know. The little boy spirit showed up once more, with that same sick smile on his face, it didn’t send rage into Natsume, in fact, it only made Natsume become much more terrified.

“NO!! G-GO AWAYYY!!! AAAAHHH!!!” Natsume begged tearfully, his entire body frozen in horror. Or... he simply could not move it anymore. A prick of pain jolted through Natsume, as if he were injected with a small sewing needle, it made his head light, no, his whole body light, he felt like he was falling... but he was.

“Ah....?”

Natsume’s upper body hit the floor, his remaining senses were able to pick up one last image from his vision.. he saw the remaining part of his body falling down along with him, as blood spray out as if it were a fountain, and right in front of it was the little child smiling a witty, proud smile, the smile even a devil wouldn’t dare harbor. Natsume’s vision immediately went out, all senses cut off, he was most likely dead by now.

......  
“N......”

.....  
“Natsume.....”

.....  
“Natsume-kun!!” A familiar voice... “Please!! Snap out of it!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain emits from Natsume’s cheek. “OWW?!” Natsume yelped from the pain.

“S-Shishou!!” Sora calls out in relief.

“What.....? Huh...?” Natsume looks around confused, everyone who had been killed... is suddenly alive and well again.. “How... are you... alive..?”

“Sakasaki!! Thank god...!” Hokuto pulled Natsume into his grasp, hugging him out of the blue.

“H-H-Hokkee-KUN?!” Natsume’s face turned beet red from Hokuto’s sudden gesture of love. “W-W-What’s gotten INTO you?!”

“Shishou.. Sora and the rest of us were worried about you..!” Sora joined in the hug alongside Hokuto. “Y-You started strangling yourself as soon as you looked at the ghost.. you didn’t listen when we called... we thought you might... d-die..!”

“Eh....?”

Choking himself..? He was doing that? Then were the mortifying scenes from earlier... the deaths of his friends.. their tattered bodies.. and his own slashed dead body.. was it all a ruse? Now that he thinks about it, his head hurt when he stared directly into the child spirit’s eyes, perhaps it was a trick set by the mischievous runt, an illusion set up to trick the victim into thinking their death was a swift one, what a sickening prank that was.

“Uwaaa... if I didn’t resort to slapping you, I don’t think you would have snapped out of it..” Tsumugi noted out.

“SenPAI.... you saved ME..?” Natsume was dearly grateful for that, but he was well too embarrassed to truly admit his real feelings. “Hmph... you’ll PAY for hitting ME like this... but... t-thanks..”

“Aaah~! He said thanks! Did you hear that, Sora-kun?” Tsumugi laughs cheerfully.

“Ugh, SHUT up, we have YET to do our WORK correctly.” Natsume scolds. “I figured it OUT, we must NOT look directly into this THING’S eyes..”

“Eh..?” Hokuto questioned. “Why not?”

“It’ll possess YOU.. and emit FALSE illusions into your EYES.” Natsume informed them. “Perhaps that is WHY I have been unconsciously CHOKING myself..”

“Then... how will we stop it fro-“ right as Hokuto was about to ask his question, a sense of unease settled onto everyone’s hearts as a giggle rings through. “Crap, is it back?!”

Suddenly and as if out of the void, the malicious spirit shows itself once more, a look of mockery stapled on its small face. Natsume’s fears all began to rise up once again, the images of blood and guts flying out of his friends flashing back in his mind, a deadly warning to what this spirit is capable of. Tsumugi pushes back Hokuto and Sora behind him in means of protection, as he’s nodding to Natsume to start the appeasing ritual before they all end up as dead men. As if trying to tame a wild animal, Natsume grabs the bag of tongue which Hokuto had slipped out of his jacket for him, and tried to ever so slowly approach the spirit, avoiding any possible eye contact. The spirit stood silent, watching Natsume walking towards him while looking down at the crooked floorboards, this was their only chance to settle things with the nightmare of a school, their only resort to freedom.

“H-Hey... I’ve.. g-got someTHING that belongs to YOU...” Natsume stuttered, he was deathly afraid at the moment, he was worried the bag in his hand might even fall from his shaky grip. “You’re... R-Ryou Y-Yoshizawa.... corRECT..?”

“Ooghh....?” The spirit flinched upon hearing the familiar name, Natsume assumed that it was because he was right about it, now all he has to do is hand the little boy the bloody bag and make a run for it, praying it all works out well.

“You... Your TONGUE... it’s in THIS bag...” Natsume trembled a little, until he finally managed to muster up some courage and decided to make eye contact with the ghost. “Here!! This is YOUR tongue..!! So please!! STOP what you are DOING!!”

“...My.... oug....” The spirit stared down at the bag, with big curious eyes.

“That’s RIGHT... this is YOUR tongue.. so take it.. AND REFRAIN FROM KILLING ANYMORE PEOPLE!!” Natsume pulled the tongue out, taking note to wash his hands extra hard after this, and handed it over to the child. The little boy took it from Natsume’s trembling hands, inspecting it close before inserting it into his little mouth. As if magically, the tongue transfixed itself in its rightful place, looking good as new.

“.....My tongue...” The spirit’s voice was clear, and speech was fully understandable. “...Thank you.. big bro..”

“A-Are you GOOD.. now?” 

The spirit simply nodded and smiled peacefully, all the hostility and violence its aura was reeking had seemingly vanished, similar to an exorcism ritual that has been conducted on a fast plane. The little boy, Ryou, bid his farewell to Natsume, as he started vanishing, finally his soul becoming purified and mind appeased. Luckily, there were no victims this time, if they keep going at this pace, they shall surely find the way out as quick as ever.

“...FinaLLY..!” Natsume fell to his knees, drenched in sweat and exhaustion, his nerves were wracked from all the pressure and stress pushed onto him. “Just.... haah... TWO more....”

“Aaaahhh!! Good job Natsume-kun!!” Tsumugi praised the younger boy, as he was rushing to his side help him on his footing. “I’m proud of you!”

“Ugh... save it for LATER...” Natsume scoffed. “Are Sora and Hokkee-KUN alright?”

“Yes~!” Sora ran over to his shishou, embracing him in a hug. “Shishou was so cool~”

“Hey, is it just me or does the floor feel unsteady..” Hokuto suddenly brought up a weird question, but he was not wrong, something was indeed odd. A little TOO odd.

“Hmm...?”

At the corner, Natsume’s eye caught a couple of small debris moving for some reason, until he realized what was coming. Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, the floor started shaking violently, how vexing, an earthquake was apparently on the run as of the moment.

“AN E-EARTHQUAKE??” Natsume yelled in warning, it was indeed an earthquake, quite a strong one at that. The floors were breaking apart, and the ceilings were being torn down, things were going at a really bad yet fast pace. Tsumugi guided the three younger boys into his embrace and tried to use his own body as a method of shielding away any debris or objects that might harm them, willing to take the risk at all cost just to make sure they are all safe. Sounds of windows shattering sunk the group into fear, they were all screaming in fear, along with occasional tears falling along the way. Whatever the hell could have caused this sudden earthquake?!

“K-KEEP STILL!!” Tsumugi instructed. “PLEASE...! I’LL KEEP YOU ALL SAFE!!”

Tsumugi was barely audible, but they all heard it loud and clear, trusting their senior, they comply and stick with him till the very end.

☆ —————————— ☆ 

“Please..! Stay alive! I am begging you!” Souma cried over Keito’s injured body.

Akatsuki were well hidden in the art room, with Keito’s body laid over the bench of the statue stands, he was deeply injured around his shoulder blades, blood seeping out of the fabric that Kuro wrapped on him, it needed a re-change perhaps.

“Hnng... it hurts awfully much...” Keito flinched at the simplest of movements, he was clearly not up to the task of roaming around anymore. “That damned.. Aoba... I’ll get him for thi- AAAUGH!”

“Hasumi!” Kuro set more pressure on Keito’s wound, he tried to minimize the seeping blood at all possible means, things were not going all too well on their side. “The hell’s Aoba’s problem either way...”

“That insolent man... I shall cut him down next time he dare show his sinful face!” Souma pledged. “Regretfully.. I do not seem to have my katana alongside me...”

“That’s probably for the better.” Kuro remarks. “Anyways, Hasumi, I’m changin’ the fabric, this one’s soakin’ with blood now.”

“K-Kiryu.. I am deeply grateful..” Keito smiles gently, yet a pained expression is still faintly present. “I.. was acting too rashly..”

“I don’t personally mind.” Kuro cut up a piece of his white shirt that he dons under the school jacket and sprayed it with an anti-germ sanitizer that Keito surprisingly had on him. “But I DO mind if ya died, please, don’t go acting like a hero now.. we can’t afford to...”

“Lose me, I know..” Keito hissed as Kuro unwrapped the previous dirty fabric off him, faintly ghosting over his wounds. “Ghh...I apologize for the trouble I have caused...”

“Heh, no trouble at all, don’t worry.” Kuro smirked at him, fixing the newer fabric tightly on Keito’s shoulder. “As ya always tell everyone.. “How incorrigible”... right?”

Keito stared at him and burst into a soft laughter, it’s been a really long while since they had such an enjoyable time together, despite the horrors of the last hour... the horrors that Keito had never assumed would happen.. and for the one to commit such activity... to be Tsumugi Aoba of all people..

...  
......  
.........

“That’s right.” Tsumugi smiled painfully. “It was all my fault.. ahaha..”

“Aoba, explain yourself this instant!”

“Did you ever think to yourself.. what on Earth could cause such an abrupt ground-shattering earthquake to happen at a time too specific to be normal?” Tsumugi put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “It all must feel as if it were planned, correct? As if this all happened... on purpose.”

“What are you getting at..” Keito backed up slowly, watching his guard.

“Back when everyone had been joyfully performing the charm... back when we were on the grounds of Yumenosaki Academy, remember?” Tsumugi tilted his head with a smile. “You must vividly remember the way the ground had burst open beneath our feet, and how you watched your juniors fall to their demise..”

“Aoba.. you filthy-“

“I’m not done, Keito-kun~” Tsumugi interrupted him. “You’re probably thinking that it was all my fault we ended up here, correct?”

“....” Keito remained silent, it seems Tsumugi had hit the nail right on the head.

“Ehe~ well, you’re half right and half wrong!”

“Huh?! Aoba, quit your senseless puzzling and spit out the full truth already!” Keito snapped at the boy opposite to him.

“It was my fault we were all brought in here.. because of this charm, everyone might die..” Tsumugi frowned, clearly guilty of himself. “Yet Natsume-kun can save us all, so I ask you to not interfere please~!”

“You... YOU BASTARD!!” Keito swore, his fists clenched tightly. “YOU’RE THE REASON WE ALMOST DIED?!”

“Uwahhh~ t-that’s going too far!” Tsumugi professed. “P-Please don’t go blaming that on me, even Natsume-kun didn’t blame me for Subaru-kun’s death..!”

“Subaru... you mean Subaru Akehoshi...?!” Keito is taken aback by the sudden reveal, and he revealed it ever so nonchalantly as well, how horrid. “Akehoshi... is dead..?”

“Oh, I forgot, you didn’t know that...” Tsumugi brushes it off as if it were spilled milk or the likes of it. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to Natsume-kun~”

“You damned bastard! How could you speak of someone’s death so unsympathetically?!”

“A~h, mourning the dead is not going to be of any use here, Keito-kun.” Tsumugi says in a sing-song voice.

“You filthy buffoon... I can’t have you roam around freely with that behavior... God knows what more misfortune you’d cause to everyone.”

“God? I assure you, I don’t really hold such beliefs anymore.” Tsumugi approached Keito, grinning. “After all, in a place like this, not even a God can save you.”

“Aoba..?” Keito took a moment to realize this was not something Tsumugi would dare say at all, it was true that he is usually quite the straightforward man, but something was not right. “You don’t seem to be acting normally at all..”

“Ah~ Keito-kun, you’re heading down a dangerous path if you keep speaking.” Tsumugi grimly warned.

“In fact, this isn’t you at all.. Aoba.. ANSWER ME TRUTHFU-“

“You speak too much.”

Before Keito could even realize, his body had hit the floor at a fast rate, his head banging on the ground with a loud thud. He shouted in pain from the sudden impact, but that was soon to become worse than before. Tsumugi was right above him, pulling out a big sharp glass shard that seems to have belonged to a window of some sort. With a big smile on his face, Tsumugi drove the shard directly towards Keito’s chest. Keito, recognizing the situation fast enough, his reflexes help him avoid the stab to the chest, yet unfortunately manages to land onto his shoulder instead.

“AAAAAAAUUGHHHHHH!!!” Keito yelled in pain, as blood spurred out. “A-Ao..ba...!!”

“Don’t scream too loud, Natsume-kun might find us.” Tsumugi silenced Keito by driving the shard’s edge underneath his neck, barely grazing it. Keito trembled beneath Tsumugi, he was afraid of even breathing at all, out of the fear of getting his neck slashed if he was not careful enough. He wondered if this was his end, or if Tsumugi still had some sense in his brain to spare him. Who would have thunk the darkening would take effect in Tsumugi in such a violent way.

Truly though, for the darkening to affect Tsumugi of all people, it was quite ironic. Keito only managed to figure out that Tsumugi fell to it from the pieces of information that burned away. The darkening... It chips away at a person's core self, affecting their sanity, reason, and even personality, leading it all up to eventually destroy the victim. Nothing can undo the darkening they say, once it grips one’s heart, they’ll quickly succumb to the tragedy of despair and loneliness.. but Keito was willing to try resurrecting Tsumugi’s spirit, as he must be only in the first few stages of it.

“AOBA..! SNAP OUT OF IT!!” Keito pleaded. “Your soul is... falling to the darkening..!!”

Tsumugi didn’t respond, instead he drove the bloody glass shard down onto Keito’s shoulder again, deepening the wound. Keito let out another anguished scream, as Tsumugi morbidly shoved the shard in harder, cutting at the skin and opening the gap further. Keito’s mind was in hysterics as the pain began slowly spreading throughout his entire body vessel, he could do nothing but yell painfully.

“I wonder.. how big can I make this go~” Tsumugi pondered as if he were a child ripping apart a doll he doesn’t need anymore. “We can play around all da- AAAGHH!”

As if a miracle had passed by, Tsumugi’s violent session was interrupted abruptly by a sudden Kuro’s surprise appearance, kicking Tsumugi’s face and sending him flying off a few floorboards away.

“OWW!! Uwaaah...! That hurt so bad, you know!!” Tsumugi cried, tugging himself up properly and re-equipping his fallen glasses. “And you used the sole of your shoes, no less!!”

“Sorry ‘bout that, but I can’t have ya harming my boss like that.” Kuro cracked his knuckles. “Hasumi, ya should have told us you’d run like that.”

“Hnnng... K-Kiryu....”

“Kanzaki, I’ll take care of the pest, you take Hasumi into a safe room.” Kuro tugged Keito up on his feet carefully, handing him to Souma.

“Y-Yes, Kiryu-dono!!” Souma nervously carried Keito in a gentle way, making sure he doesn’t accidentally touch his bleeding wounds. “P-Please hurry Kiryu-dono, I do not acquire knowledge of treating injuries..!”

“Will do.” Kuro confirmed.

“Eeehh~ I didn’t think I’d face all the scary Akatsuki members..” Tsumugi complains, rubbing his face as it still ached from the kick. “Natsume-kun is sure to scold me..”

“I’m sure he ain’t gonna scold you for just that, you’re soaking in blood y’know.” Kuro pointed at Tsumugi’s attire, it was indeed as red as can be, painted from Keito’s gushed blood.

“Eeh.... Do go easy on me, Kuro-kun~” Tsumugi smiled cheerfully. “I need to stay alive for a little more until I deliver this booklet to Natsume-kun, then feel free to kill me!”

“Geez you sure went nuts, didn’t you.” Kuro notes, adjusting himself into a fighting stance. “I’m no killer, so you either back off or things will get messy.”

“Scary~!” Tsumugi feigns ignorance. “I shall take my leave then!”

“Oh? That was a quick retreat.” Kuro was puzzled. “So you’re going to stab Hasumi just like that and leave?!”

“Um.. yes?” Tsumugi tilts his head confused. “I WAS planning to leave scotch free without any harm done, but Keito-kun sure loves to extend his lectures~”

“You coward... ending a fight you picked yourself...”

“Keito-kun’s endless yapping was what got him the short end of the stick, do try to learn from his mistake.” Tsumugi cautioned the taller man. “Don’t make me carry more sin than I already have to.”

And with that, Tsumugi turned around and took his leave, murmuring a few last words that deem inaudible to Kuro who had stood further away from his classmate. What a freak, Kuro thought to himself, a dangerous freak at that.

.........  
.....  
...

“Will ya manage walking around with all the blood ya lost?” Kuro expressed his worries.

“I’ll manage..” Keito responded, tugging his jacket back on. Slight movement was very painful to say the least, yet Keito remained determined and strong, he refused to let an injury stop him now.

“Hasumi-dono.. your wound might open!” Souma voiced his concerns to the vice president, it was already quite a traumatic experience for Souma to see his senior getting near-killed.

“Aoba mentioned he found a way out, yet he refused to share it, he said something about us interfering..” Keito explains what seems to be Tsumugi’s reasonings. “What I conclude from that.. is the way out isn’t simply a front door.”

“Y-You’re kidding...” Kuro rubs his temple, obviously tired of all this mess. “Can’t get any worse huh..”

“The safest move for now is to move out and collect as many students as we can.” Keito plotted. “Eichi.. must be around here somewhere as well.”

“Hasumi-dono, if you are tired, I shall carry you around while we search!” Souma generously offered his senior.

“Kanzaki... I’m thankfu-“

Keito’s sentence was cut short by a sudden rumbling that shook the desks and chairs, as well as broken canvases breaking even more upon their impact to the floor.

“W-What in the heavens is happening?!” Souma panicked, as he instinctively tried to unsheathe his sword, upon realizing he does not have it on him at the moment. The floor began ripping at the seams, swallowing in the desks and stands that once sat above it, windows began bursting, shards falling all around the three boys, Kuro tried to shield Keito from the falling objects that might harm him, the entire room feels as if it might fall apart at any moment.

“AH, KIRYU-DONO, WATCH OU-“ Before Souma could fully warn his senior of an incoming light beam befalling him, the floor beneath Souma had broken loose, causing him to descend right down at alarming speed.

“KANZAK- AGH!” Kuro’s nape was struck by the falling light beam, knocking him unconscious on the floor.

“KIRYU, KANZAKI!!!” Keito panicked as he was helpless at the moment, watching his junior fall to his demise, god knows how many floors they were up on, and his friend had been struck this way, his heart was racing from fear. Tsumugi was right, not even praying could do anything for him.

☆ ————————— ☆

“How irritating... *cough* I haven’t brought my medicine along with me..” Eichi coughed continuously, his illness taking control of his system. “I had lost contact with Yuzuru and little Tori as well..”

“Your majesty, I apologize for the inconvenience.” Wataru arrives into the classroom, empty handed. “I could not find a single capsule of treatment...”

“Figures.. I’m sure I’ll be fine, it’s just a tad annoying.” Eichi complained yet directly went into a coughing fit.

“I pray do tell, what reason had you to keep the butler away from his Hime-kun?” Wataru’s curiosity got the best of him.

“I was simply worried he might act rashly, Yuzuru is a loyal boy, and that is his weakness.” Eichi explained more thoroughly. “He loves Tori so much, I am sure he would go to extended measures to assure his safety... but he doesn’t know his limits..”

“I see~” Wataru hummed. “I completely understand your reasonings, dear emperor, you truly are kind.”

“I’m sorry, Wataru... I’m certain Yuzuru must hate me now..” Eichi clenched his fists. “Ahh.. how can I ever face my cute little Tori this way..”

“I’m pretty sure Hime-kun understands as well.” Wataru reassured Eichi, as he removed his jacket and wrapped it around the emperor. “Do warm up, it is quite cold you see.”

“Thank you..” Eichi looked down melancholic, he would really love a warm cup of tea at the moment, to have a little tea party with Tori.. Yuzuru.. and Wataru. Things did not go as he planned, the graduation he was promised ended in getting thrown into a world as this, such an ungraceful end for the top unit “Fine”.

“Tori... dear Tori... I beg you to survive.. and re-create the graceful image of Fine..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you if you’re still reading this au! I’m having lots of fun writing it so I hope you are enjoying, even if i’m killing people
> 
> Twitter: @doesemily


	13. A Prayer Gone Unheard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hectic as it may be, Rei reveals his secret to his unit mates. Meanwhile, a certain other meets with an unexpected guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I hope I can keep you all around for as much as I can to please you all! Thank you for choosing to read this fic written on a whim! ♡

Blood covered walls, broken floors, torn bodies, and malicious spirits. It was all much too familiar, as if he were given a second try at a game he had failed, a second chance to restore the deaths of his friends and loved ones, a miracle at most, or perhaps it was just more punishment to give him a spoonful of the hell he had seen once before. The voices of farewell from all his friends, they were genuine real feelings he had heard straight from their last breath, it was not a mere feeling of déjà vu. So why.. why must he experience an awful hell such as this again when he knows for a fact... that fate cannot be changed.

“You sure cry so much, Sakuma-san..” Kaoru sarcastically pointed out. “You even cried when you locked yourself in a locker once, how’d you even get in there that one time?”

“Eeehh? Kaoru-kun, you’re too mean to this old man!” Rei cried “I can’t believe you’d say such an awful thing even after that surprise ki-“

“AAAHH SHUSH IT SHUUUUSH!!” Kaoru panicked. “A-Anyway!! Adonis-kun, is anyone across the hall..?”

“I believe we’ve lost the spirit..” Adonis peeked around the corner. “Although I spot stairs across the hall, I believe hey might lead us to the exit.”

“Oooh! Good work!” Kaoru praised the younger man.

“Exit....” Rei muttered to himself. “Kaoru-kun... do you truly believe that it is our freedom from that said exit..?”

“Eh..?”

“I... I must inform you both something important..” Rei took a deep nervous breath. “It is about the thing I told you about earlier, Kaoru-kun.”

“What thi- Ah..!” Kaoru recalled the prior conversation that he had shared with the leader of his unit, it took plenty of surprising turns of course, and he must say, it was definitely more than one kind of surprise as well. The kiss was a comfort one, Kaoru was practically used to doing antics as this on his plenty dates, but the little kiss aside, Rei had revealed something not even Kaoru would believe if it weren’t for all the supernatural events occurring all over this cursed place. Apparently, Rei had knowledge about who will succumb to the unfortunate fate of eternal death, how he knows, was a complete mystery to Kaoru. He was not that much of an expert in the field of the occult, so he couldn’t bring himself to bother cracking the codes, but now that Rei is finally indulging them upon the truth... well, he still is not sure what to do after that.

“I had seen it all before.. it is as if a film is on rewind..” Rei reveals, yet his explanation still had been much too vague to rule out a conclusion.

“Sakuma-senpai..?” Adonis worriedly questions.

“This will be a tad difficult to explain and take in.. so do bear with this old man please..” Rei starts. “This cursed charm we had performed at the very start.. it was what has sent us to our demise.. Tsumugi.. he had given us this charm, unbeknown to him that it would drive us all into this lot of a mess..”

“Aoba? It’s true he did recommend we do this.” Kaoru ponders to himself. “I really didn’t want to stay after school on graduation day but you forced us to stay and try it so we can “deepen” our friendship with the unit or whatever.”

“Yes.. I did mention that..” Rei confirms. “Doggie was most excited about it as well.. if only it went well..”

“Sakuma-senpai.. are you saying that paper doll we had performed on is the reason we were sent here?” Adonis theorizes.

“I’m afraid so.” Rei grimly corroborates. “That is not all.. it is oddly vague in my memory but.. I seem to have ventured throughout these halls once before our initial arrival to this place.”

“Once... before?”

“Indeed..” Rei nods. “I recalled these events as soon as we had set foot on this land, it is a bit difficult for me to thoroughly explain but.. for some reason, I remember deaths.. deaths of so many..”

“Sakuma-san..” Kaoru makes sure to carefully phrase his words. “M-May I ask.. who dies..?”

“I... I can only seem to recall a little.. but the little lady.. she was one of them.. yet it feels as if the way the Aoi twins explained her death... is different than the way I recall.” Rei revealed. “Ah, but other people’s deaths.. I..I..”

“Wait wait! Did you just say that it was different than what you know?!” Kaoru interrupted Rei, hope flashing within his eyes. “Do you know what this could mean?? We have a chance to change it!”

“I may not be too sure of what this means, but I agree with Hakaze-senpai.” Adonis nods in agreement, a small smile upon his face.

“Uh.. but hold on! I-I am not done explaining!!”

“Oh! S-Sorry, keep going, Sakuma-san.”

“I believe many students had already met their demise by now.. so if we were to try saving them..” Rei pauses, hesitation dawning upon his heart. “W-We must meet Switch.. before..”

“Switch..? What’s that unit going to help in??” Kaoru was puzzled. “Aoba is there but he really can’t do anything can he?”

“The exit. It leads to nowhere.” Rei hits the two boys with a surprise fact. “The only exit.. is to please the spirits who were going after us all... or so I remember from this vision..”

“H-Huh....?” Kaoru falls into silence, is this true? Was this entire wandering journey.. just aimless walking, it felt as if it were an experiment set up for mice, all trapped and forced to roam around and find a way out, except this was a sick experiment, where death lingers at your footsteps.

“A-All the search we had done.. was not valuable..?” Adonis was astonished, but he remained calm.

“I-I’m... sorry..” Rei looks away, pain invading his heart. “L-Let’s search for Doggie and the twins.. I’m sure they might need our help.”

“R-Right...” Adonis nods, a little nervous.

“Fine, Sakuma-san, you have more explaining to do late-“

Suddenly, Kaoru was interrupted as a foreign scream erupted throughout the hall, causing a small chain reaction of Rej yelping and falling to the ground in fear. The screaming was continuously going, they were anguished, every once in a while the screaming gets replaced with begging and pleads for mercy, something was wrong.

“W-What.. the hell...?” Kaoru looked far into the distance but nobody was there, were the screams just that loud?

“Oh god.. no no no..!” Rei sat in his place shivering in fear. “D-Don’t tell me.. we’re too late..?”

“What is it, Sakuma-senpai..?” Adonis lifts up Rei and helps balance him on his feet, he was really shaking, so even Rei could be this afraid..

“The twins.. and Koga!!” Rei cries. “WE NEED TO FIND THEM FAST!!”

☆ —————————— ☆

“Oshi-san..” Mika whispered, yet received no response from the older boy. Mika doesn’t mind that of course, Shu was most likely scared, so it’s natural of him to stay silent. The faults in Shu are what make him human, as for Mika, he has to stay as Shu’s beloved perfect doll. Not everyone has the opportunity to be in such position, and a certain rabbit who was offered this position decided to throw it all away. All their problems were solved before, he and Nazuna made up and were not mad at each other anymore, even Shu had resolved his problems with Nazuna, it was all perfect once again... yet why does this painful feeling linger once more?

“Kagehira, are you okay?” Shu snapped Mika out of his thoughts by patting his head in comfort. “I apologize for not replying earlier, I was lost in thought.”

“Ah..! It ain’t nothin’ Oshi-san~ I was lost’n thought too..” Mika smiles, appreciating the small head pats from his leader. “Was thinkin’ ‘bout ya.. and Valkyrie..”

“Hmm.. You’re on your own from now, aren’t you..” Shu frowns upon that. “I.. will definitely feel lonely without your presence.”

“Oshi-san....” Mika blushes at the feeling of being wanted.

“L-Let’s focus now, I believe there might be a set of stairs over there, we might be able to go down.” Shu instructs.

“Waiiit! Oshi-san.. look..!” Mika points at a classroom that has some sort of luminous light appear from it. “W-What could that be..?”

“It reeks of an eerie feeling..” Shu confessed. “I would rather not set foot in there.”

“Would ya like it if I went instead?” Mika offered, perfectly aware of the danger this task held.

“Y-You must be kidding, no way would I ever endanger you to such an obvious trap such as this.”

“Oshi-san.. M-Maybe ya can stand at the door while am investigatin’ around?” Mika forced the idea upon his leader harder.

“....Stubborn fool..” Shu sighed. “Make it quick, I shall be watching from here.”

“Don’ worry ‘bout nothin’ !!” Mika reassures Shu with a bright smile as he slides open the creaking sliding door.

The room had been oddly normal, with nothing special added to it at all, a simple classroom, with simple broken desks and chairs that deem too small for Mika, obviously because this place is an elementary school, so it wouldn’t seem out of place for such sized tables and seats. The highlights of the room were colored by a dim blue light emitting out of the corner, it must have been what Mika saw earlier outside. Mika turns around and checks to see if Shu is still outside, and fortunately he is, he left the door slightly open as well. Mika gulps audibly before stepping up to the source of light, a little girl in a striking red tattered dress, long black hair covering her face, and a sickly pale skin, she must be a ghost.

“Uhm.. yer not alive, are ya?” Mika looks down at the child. She simply raised her head up, her eyes making direct contact with Mika’s heterochromatic ones. “Ah..! D-Don’ look at ‘em eyes.. t-they ain’t pretty, I know..”

“Hm?” The little girl suddenly voices herself. “Mister.. I think they’re lovely.”

“H-Huh..?” Mika steps back at the sudden compliment. “Uh..! T-Thank ya kindly..!”

“Your eyes are very pretty..” The little girl compliments Mika further, seemingly taken aback by their mismatched colors. “I want pretty eyes like those too..”

“Ehh~?” Mika giggles, embarrassed by the nice comments he’s receiving. “Y-Ya know, I ain’t that fond of ‘em, I’d trade ‘em away for normal ones if I coulda!”

“How sad.”

“Ehehe~ but thank ya for ‘em compliments..!” Mika rubs his head shyly.

“Your friend.. does he like them.” The spirit keeps up the conversation. “The one outside I meant.”

“Oshi-san..? He... I.. ain’t sure..” Mika frowns, Shu cares for him, but he isn’t sure if he actually does like this feature about him.

“You have another friend too, with red hair.. and golden eyes..”

“Red hair...? D-Do ya mean Nakkun..?” Mika remembers, he begins wondering if he’s alright in this hellish place or if he had died already.

“You must cherish your friend outside very much.. correct..?” The little girl smiled. “But he seems to cherish the red haired one.. “Nakkun”.... am I right?”

“That’s..!!” She was right, Shu cares for Natsume, he really does, he treats him with love and affection every time he sees him, it was frustrating. It was unfair. He wants to be pampered by Shu as well. He wants to be loved by Shu, to be the one he looks down on with love-filled eyes. To be the one he plans beautiful dresses and costumes for only. To carry, to cherish, to praise. He wanted that all for himself.

“That’s right.. your jealousy.. your hatred.. let it all seep out.. this envy..” The spirit got up from her place and walked over to Mika, holding his hands with her petite ones. “Let your darkening take over.”

“Kagehira?!” Suddenly, Shu’s voice calls out to an entranced Mika, which snaps him out of his daze immediately.

“H-Huh?” Mika blinks and finds that the spirit of the little girl had vanished out of sight. “W-Where’d she go..?”

“Kagehira!!” Shu slides open the door and bursts in, taking a sigh of relief once he sees that Mika is safe and sound. “Y-You’re okay.. thank god..”

“Oshi-san, I found..” Mika stops himself, he recalled the spirit’s words about Natsume and realized he can’t bring himself to tell Shu about his meeting with this ghost child. “I... found nothin’...”

“That is fine.. whatever was here could have been dangerous either way.. let us make haste and find an exit already.” Shu complained.

“O-Okay!” Mika complied and followed in Shu’s steps.

Mika began thinking of Natsume once more, he was talented, smart, and very petite yet beautiful, which was a winning point in Shu’s heart, he absolutely adores these types of frames, but Mika.. he was the exact opposite, he was not all that talented or skilled at anything special, and he wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed either, and most importantly, he was too tall and masculine framed for Shu’s tastes, no wonder he’d like Natsume better.. he was an oddball as well, so Shu automatically cared for him and his well-being. Mika was jealous, no, even worse, he was envious to death. It was unfair, it was so unfair, how come despite Mika’s hard work, Natsume gets all the love.. is it because he’s too cute..? That was the same with Nazuna as well, and the same with a plentiful of first years, it was unfair. Unfair unfair unfair UNFAIR..! People who have such a blessed advantage.. they deserve death, don’t they. That’s right, even the little girl encouraged it, he really should just go ahead and kil-

“Kagehira..? You’re shaking.. are you fine..?” Shu checked the temperature on Mika’s forehead, it was stable.

“I...” 

Mika’s blood boils over this all. 

“I’m fine~ Oshiii~ saaan~”

☆———————————☆ 

“RUN, RUN AND STAY SAFE!!” Chiaki yelled over the sounds of the rumbling walls. Just recently, a sudden Earthquake had betaken Ryuseitai by surprise, leaving the first years panicked and their third years even much more panicked, not only for themselves, but for their juniors as well. The floor had broke open, swallowing as many corpses as there were on the sides of the hall, as well as splitting Ryuseitai into two groups on each side of the hall, third years stuck towards the side of the stairs, and the first years on the opposite way to them. It was frustratingly troublesome, but they had to deal with it if they want to come out of his place alive.

“C-Captain!! P-Promise us you’ll be here!” Tetora calls back, haste in his words to rush things and move.

“Don’t worry, Nagumo..! Just.. protect Sengoku and Takamine!!” Chiaki requests of the younger boy. “You two as well!! Stay safe and protect each other!!”

“O-Ossu!!” Tetora holds back a choke of fear and tries to man up, taking both Midori and Shinobu’s hands into his, they all take off to a safer area, where the Earthquake and falling floor boards won’t injure anyone.

“Hurry up, Kanata, let’s go upstairs, it’s our only choice!” Chiaki grasps Kanata’s hand, it was very cold and dry, almost inhuman.

“Yes.. ‘Chiaki’..!”

The two sprint onto the stairs, taking care of their steps and avoiding any loose boards or holes along the way. Surprisingly, this set of stairs did not get blocked by the sharp piano wires that are accompanied by in the stairs leading to the lower floors — beneath the one under this of course. Going up, they face a single door blocking their way, and that is when the Earthquake comes to a sudden halt.

“Haah... d-did it stop..?” Chiaki looks around him, it certainly did, as no more shaking or rumbling could be felt anymore. “Finally.. but now we’re here at this door..?”

“Chiaki..” Kanata sighs depressingly.

“Hm?”

“I.. am ‘thirsty’... rather.. my ‘body’ needs water..” Kanata sighs much more depressingly this time around. 

“Oh.. right, you’re almost entirely dependent on water, aren’t you.” Chiaki chuckles, but gets serious immediately. “Shoot.. I don’t think we’ve found a single droplet of water in this place.. and we’ve been here for hours, maybe a whole day at this point..”

“Hm.. I ‘could’ hold out.. but I do not ‘know’ for how long..” Kanata mumbled.

“Damn.. I’m sure by now, our families would probably be worried about us and our whereabouts..” Chiaki guessed. “The police might even try to look for us.. but Kanata.. you know this isn’t a case of kidnapping more than all of us.”

“Yes.... it is ‘not’ normal..” Kanata disclosed. “It is a case.. of ‘ghosts’ and ‘spirits’ afterall.”

“D-D-Don’t say that out loud though!!” Chiaki trembled, despite all this, he was deathly afraid of ghosts, how did he survive this far he wonders.

“Ehehe~ Chiaki is ‘adorable’ when he is like that~” Kanata softly laughed.

“Aaahh q-quit it..!” Chiaki blushed, embarrassed by all the teasing. “L-Let’s just check out what’s over here!”

“Okay~” Kanata nods and checks the first thing in the way, a door. “Chiaki.. ‘look’... it says ‘something’ here..” Kanata points at a label that was printed on the door. Chiaki leans in to try deciphering what the old kanji says.

“Shower.... room?” Chiaki gasps. “Oh! So this could probably lead to the pool!”

“Meaning... there is ‘water’ here..” Kanata’s eyes gleamed with hope.

“I sure hope there is..!” Chiaki grabs the handle, nervousness dawning upon him, as he twists it down and pulls, surprisingly it was unlocked, and thankfully did not cause any trouble at all. “It’s open!”

Kanata strolls in, Chiaki shortly following behind him, as their eyes explore the new area open for them. It was indeed a shower room from the looks of it, right near the door were a couple of shower heads all lined up till the end of the room, while on the opposite of the room were three large locker rows, with one knocked down. The locks and doors on them were broken off with nothing in them but dust and debris. Along the end of the room, another door awaited them, most likely leading to a pool, but this also means one thing: it must also lead outside.

“Water pumps.. lemme check them for you, Kanata!” Chiaki rushed to the first small pump and twisted it, the sound of rust on metal giving off the most uncomfortable feeling. “Damn, not a drop in that one.”

Gradually, he checked each pump and shower head one at a time, each with nothing but the sounds of creaking coming out of them, and not a droplet of even any kind of liquid to be seen.

“Hell.. all of these are drained it seems.. I’m sorry Kanata..” Chiaki apologizes. “Hey, m-maybe the pool might offer something?”

Kanata simply nods and follows in Chiaki’s pursuit. Twisting the handle around, he opens the door labeled as “Pool”, and he was correct, it lead to the outside, knowing that from the immediate sound of the wind hitting his face directly. It was very chilly outside, rain came pouring down nonstop, wetting their faces along with their clothes. The area was quite wide, there was a pool in the middle that seems to be full with the most filthy and grotesque water they had ever laid eyes on, something that even feels like sewer water, yet smelled much more foul than that. Apart from the rancid pool water, the floor around it seems to be in crumbles, yet stable, finishing the scene off with a tall fence surrounding the roof area, it was climbable, but that idea would be much too unsafe, after all they were god knows how many floors high, falling down there was an assured death.

“It’s really hitting hard.. Maybe this rain is safe to drink?” Chiaki explored around the area, careful of his footing so he could not slip down into the pool, it wasn’t like he doesn’t know how to swim, but the water was too disgusting to really go in.

“No, Chiaki, it is not ‘safe’ to drink...” Kanata put his hand out as he watched the rain drops hit his palm, he looked at how each drop fell and merged with the other drops on his hand, becoming bigger and heavier until Kanata shook his hand, knocking off the drops. “It is ‘dirty’ for drinking..”

“Yikes.. the water is so mucky, you can’t even see a thing down here..” Chiaki leaned in, he knew something was surely inside this pool, maybe bodies and even skeletal remains. “Try to stay away from it, Kanata.”

“...Okay...” Kanata replied solemnly.

“Hey, are you okay..?” Chiaki leapt back on his feet and faced Kanata. “You look sad.. is there anything bothering you?”

“Ah.. n-no... I’m..’fine’...” Kanata shied away.

“Come on, it’s a hero’s duty to make things right!” Chiaki gave a big warm grin. “So fess up your feelings! I’m here for you!”

“Chiaki.....” Kanata’s breath hitched. “I... I am.. ‘sorry’... it.. was all.. ‘me’... I’m..”

“Kanata.. Calm down, this won’t do you good, here, let’s go inside and warm up a little.” Chiaki pulled Kanata back into the shower room, removing both their jackets so they could dry up.

“You won’t ‘forgive’ me.. if I tell you.. the ‘truth’... will you..” Kanata’s eyes began welling up. “Chiaki.... Chiaki....!”

“Kanata.” Chiaki silenced his partner with a finger to his lips. “Don’t worry.. I don’t know what you’ve done, or what you could have done for me to never forgive you.. but please remember one thing..”

“...”

“I’ll always, ALWAYS be right beside you, I’ll always love and protect you, even if you deem yourself as a villain, which isn’t true at all.” Chiaki smiles. “You’re my hero after all.. just like how you always say I’m yours.”

“C-Chiaki...” Kanata holds back his tears. “W-Will... you.. ‘hug’ me..?”

“Of course!” Chiaki laughs brightly as he pulls his friend into an embrace. “Are you happy now..? Please smile for me..!”

“Ehehe~ I am ‘happy’..” Kanata smiles softly for Chiaki. “C-Can you.. come.. ‘close’...?”

“Hm? Sure?” confused, Chiaki leans in as ordered.

“Chiaki..” Kanata cups Chiaki’s face with his cold hands and brings him close to his own face. “I ‘love’ you.”

Without warning, Kanata closes the distance between their lips with a deep kiss, seemingly catching Chiaki by surprise, but it wasn’t that bad of a surprise at all. Chiaki leaned in further in response, accepting the kiss. Kanata’s lips were oddly cold, just like the rest of his body, it was almost mythical, as of Kanata weren’t even a human, but Chiaki knows fully well that his partner is just as human. Everyone back at Yumenosaki was afraid of Kanata, Chiaki pitied him, they never open their eyes to the truth of Kanata’s gentleness and care. Chiaki was glad the first years of Ryuseitai at least seem to have finally warmed up to him, especially since they were the types that don’t seem to easily socialize with people like Kanata, but now.. they raised Ryuseitai together, they made them rise and glow like a shooting star, that’s why.. Chiaki wants to let Kanata know he matters.

Kanata broke the kiss after a few seconds which seemed like hours, he brushed his lips with the tips of his fingers, entranced by the loving spell of the kiss.

“I-I’m..”

“I-I-It’s o-okay!!!” Chiaki panicked, losing his cool in embarrassment from the kiss. “I-I-It was n-nice!!”

“Ah... ehehe~ I’m ‘glad’ you ‘think’ so~” Kanata giggled.

“H-Hey! While you dry up, I’m going to go check the other side of the pool..!” Chiaki gets up and drops off his jacket and tie, which were both just getting in the way. “Stay put!”

Kanata nodded as Chiaki bolted through the door, it was still pouring heavily, showing no signs of stopping too. Kanata mentioned the water was not safe for drinking, so there goes a plan B for if they ever stay trapped here forever. Whilst looking around, something shines on the other side of the roof, something that looks like a tiny item left behind, Chiaki was a bit suspicious but decided to check it out either way. Carefully minding his steps and being wary of slipping, he approaches the said item and picks it up from the place it was stuck in — which was a few loose bricks. It was a key, odd for a key to end up on a roof though, he had no idea for what it really was and what it could be used for. Just across the way was another door, different from the shower room door, just down a tiny set of steps.

“What do we have here..” Chiaki brushed the moss off the door’s label to read it. “Pump room..? Ah, this is probably for the pool then, hm?”

Right beneath it were a set of rules, pool rules it seems. It had all the regular rules you’d expect from a pool, no running, no diving in, no pushing, all the same knick-knack. Although there was another rule, right as he were about to read it, a sudden loud splash sent Chiaki into a loud shriek.

“H-HUH??!”

What was that noise? Did something fall into the pool? There wasn’t anything outside for it to fall, and only he and Kanata were here... KANATA!

“KANATA?? KANATAAA!!!” Chiaki yelled, as he began running towards the pool, right there in the middle, something’s struggling. The head poked out a little and indeed it was none other than Kanata. “SHIT!!”

Chiaki swore as he panicked around for what to do, he knows Kanata doesn’t know how to swim, so it was going to be a challenge to help him out. Leaving Chiaki no choice, he took a deep breath and leapt into the pool, trying his best not to inhale any murky water. He looks around and really, it didn’t help him at all, it just hurt his eyes like hell, the water was definitely not clean at all and he’s pretty sure that if his vision wasn’t bad enough, it’s ten times worse now. With it already being impossible to see, it was also extremely difficult to find Kanata, he kept drifting away every time, it seems he really had no choice but to find a different way. Chiaki reached for the nearest edge and pulled himself up, despite the heaviness of his wet clothes. He didn’t waste any of his time reaching for the key he got and running straight to the pump room, praying it fits.

“Come on COME ON!!” Chiaki fiddles with the lock, relief washing over him as it unlocks. Making haste, he runs over to the pump, noticing the wheel was broken on the floor. “SHIT, WHY NOW??”

He curses under his breath from the stress but tries to gather his sense and fix the pump wheel back into place. Just barely fitting it, he turns the wheel with all his might, and thankfully he could hear the clangs and ripples from the water being drained away. The job wasn’t over yet, he still has to get Kanata out and check if he had inhaled any water into his lungs too. Wasting no time, he runs back outside, rain hitting his face once more, as he notices the empty pool that once was filled with a wrenching giant puddle of grossness.

“KANATA I’M COMI- HN!” Chiaki suddenly halts and his breath hitches, a wave of anxiety hits his heart, mind and soul. Oh god. What has he done. Oh god Oh GOD.

The pool was as expected drained, except this was a mistake. Right at the drainage area, an unmistakable body stuck through it, a body Chiaki could never forget. Chiaki drops to his knees, his face pales, his body was paralyzed, and his hands were shaking. Was he sweating? Or was it just the rain? He had no idea, he just knows he had committed the biggest mistake of his life.

“Huh....?” Chiaki’s eyes hurt, they hurt so much, but it wasn’t because of the pool water, no, it was his tears that keep coming out despite him commanding them not to. A hero shouldn’t cry, right? Then why.. why is he crying.. and why..

“This... isn’t real... r-right...?” Chiaki trembles as he stumbles on his legs, he goes down the pool ladder ever so mortifyingly slow. At his footing lay a whole lot of corpses, both decayed, new, and skeletal. “K-Kana..ta..?”

Approaching the drain, he gazes at the familiar body stuck in between the drain’s steel cover. Kanata, that is. His upper body was entirely mutilated underneath the drain, leaving his lower body covered in blood and tattered slightly, it seems it was not damaged as much as his upper half. The sight was horrifying, it was like a torture house and Kanata was the unfortunate one to fall victim to it. It felt like a horror movie, except a million times worse, he was living in this one, and this horror movie was a never ending ride of death and suffering.

Reality is hard to accept now. Kanata Shinkai, vice-captain of Ryuseitai, and Chiaki’s partner, was now dead.

“Hn.... KANATAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dude i was trying my best not to cry while writing i swear KANATA IS MY FAV I HATE THAT I HAD TO DO THIS!!
> 
> Anyway, real talk, thank you again for sticking by, I’m really grateful, please keep reading the future chapters, and I hope we can all stick by until the very end. Thank you! ♡ 
> 
> Twitter: @doesemily


	14. Unfortunate Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With little to no hope left after the massive Earthquake, Mao and Makoto are left to their grim thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pros of this being an AU is that I don’t have to write Yuka wanting to go to the bathroom every chapter.

How long has it been now? Their throats are as dry as a desert, legs hurt like hell from walking around aimlessly, and heads heavy from tiredness. It must have been countless hours by now, they truly had no chance of survival in this place, now did they. Trickstar... or more specifically, Makoto and Mao, were simply lucky to survive up to this point, after that massive earthquake, it would have been impossible to stay alive, but they did it, they managed to stay safe and get away with a few scratches only. But it did not end here, there were more horrors to this world than they could think of.

“God.. I can’t keep walking any longer..” Mao fumed.

“Haah... me neither..” Makoto chided in. “There’s no sight of that girl in red either...”

“To be honest, I’d rather not even meet her..” Mao confessed with hesitation. “She... got Subaru killed.. I don’t think we’re any match for her.”

“W-Well.. that’s.. true....” Makoto was shut down, they were but a couple of hopeless school boys after all, of course they were nothing compared to a killer, much less a non living spirit.

“She’ll probably snap us like twigs if we even approach her.” Mao morbidly but honestly joked.

“Uwaah.. I don’t want to think of that scenario..” Makoto shivered at the thought. To be instantly killed like that.. it was terrifying, human life was really fragile, he didn’t think he’d ever realize how quick death can occur if it weren’t for this hell zone.

“By the way..” Mao changed the subject ever so subtly. “I’m not seeing things right..? But did the layout of the entire building change?” Mao rubbed his eyes carefully, making sure he really was not just hallucinating from the stress.

“No, I noticed it as well, the hallway we were walking in is slightly different too.” Makoto noted. “You can actually see the floor’s color is a different tint than what we were used to initially..”

“What the hell..? That’s creepy, how does an entire floor plan change just like that..” Mao rubbed his temple in frustration. “No actually, forget it, after seeing ghosts and the likes of it, nothing surprises me anymore.”

“B-But it’s pretty weird.. It couldn’t be from the Earthquake earlier.. right?” Makoto stressed the fact that it was not a normal occurrence and that it should not be something to brush off so easily.

“As long as it doesn’t affect us, I couldn’t care less, we can’t afford to worry about tiny things right now.” Mao harshly shunned Makoto, he was very prickly at the moment, obviously overwhelmed by the entire situation as well as the problem of finding his childhood friend, things were not easy for him right now.

“I’m... sorry...” Makoto mumbled apologetically.

“Ahh.. M-Makoto, no I’m the one who’s sorry!!” Mao apologized, realizing he must have hurt his friend’s feelings. “Damn... ahh I didn’t mean to make you feel upset!”

“...No.. I-It’s okay...” Makoto gave off a weak smile. “W-We’re all stressed.. it’s fine..”

Mao just reluctantly lowers his head, shame overtaking him. Makoto couldn’t blame the redhead for feeling negativity at a time like this though, but even Makoto himself feels like he’s swimming through a pit of negative emotions right now. He was regretful about the past events with his passed friend Subaru, as well as losing all contact with Hokuto, and despite only meeting for a few minutes, he felt worried about Switch’s condition, he wondered if they were safe, or if they were as unlucky as his poor deceased friend.

Silence overtakes the scene, neither Makoto nor Mao desire to speak at all, not after that awkward conversation. It drove them both to the edge, anxiety residing in their system. It was almost too quiet, nothing but the sounds of the hard rain drops hitting the windows. One would think it is a serene and peaceful scene thanks to the tranquil feeling, but that meant nothing in this sad world of death and sorrow.

_Creak_

“Hm?” Makoto flinched when he suddenly heard a pair.. no, two pairs of foot steps from behind them. “Isara-kun.. I think that s-something is coming..”

Mao remained silent but cautious of Makoto’s warning. The footsteps sounded like average ones, they weren’t heavy like the giant man with the threatening hammer, but the two remained completely alarmed and on guard.

“Hold on, Makoto..” Mao gestured for his blonde friend to stand behind him, as he called out. “You! Whoever it is around the corner, come out!”

“Ehh!? D-Don’t just call out like that, Isara-kun!” Makoto yelped.

Mao stood in his protective stance for a while longer, awaiting whatever might attack or possibly aid them. He felt like it might be much of an exaggeration to go and protect Makoto in this way, the blonde was surely embarrassed as well, but right now, losing another member and friend was the biggest of his worries. He wasn’t about to lose his only remaining close fellow.

Just around the corner, a head peeks out, a very familiar one at that, those unmistakable gray curly locks with the tiny antenna, blue sapphire eyes, and sore expression. Unmistakably, it was their senior from Knights, Sena Izumi. His face seems exhausted but for some reason, he remains stoic and cool like his image should be for Knights, well, that is until he notices Makoto.

“AHHH NO WAY!!” Sena jumps from excitement as he runs towards Makoto, embracing him in a painfully tight hug. “YUU-KUUUUUN~!! I MISSED YOU SO DEARLY!!”

“I-Izumi-san?!” Makoto’s surprise takes the better of him, causing him to stumble on his steps a little. “Uwaah!! C-Careful we might fall!”

“Ah....! You were...Seaweed hair senpai?” Mao recalls. “Wait no, Secchan? Something like that?”

“HEY! Shut up! I have a name I’ll have you know!” Sena yells at the 2nd year. “Oi, Kuma-kun, get out of your slump already.”

“Kuma.. kun..?” Mao gasps, did he finally do it? Did he find... “RITSU??”

“Uwaa.. don’t yell, Seccha-“ Ritsu walks in on the scene and notices what he had been waiting to look for this whole time. “M-Maa....kun...?”

Many of their friends had died, and many who they were never even sure if they had been alive or dead yet, insanity was slowly taking over their minds, yet simply the sight of finally seeing his beloved one, it restored all his energy, determination and... his once weakened will to live.

“Ritchan...!!! You’re.. safe..!!” Mao falls to his knees in relief, putting his hands to his face. “R-Ritchan.. thank.. god.. I-I.. I don’t know what I would have done.. if you..”

“MAA-KUUUUN!!” Ritsu breaks into a sobbing fit, as he hugs his childhood friend, staining his shoulder with tears. “I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE, MAA-KUN!!”

“Ritchan... I’m..” Mao’s tears begin falling down his cheeks, his hands tremble and body shakes from the overwhelming feeling of reuniting with his dearest friend. “I’m.. so glad.. you’re finally.. here..”

“Maa-kun..” Ritsu sniffles. “I-I was.. looking everywhere... for you..”

“Ritsu.... Ritchan...” Mao smiles relieved. “I was so scared.. I was terrified of what would happen to you..”

“Me too... Maa-kun..” Ritsu’s voice cracks, this was the first time that Mao had ever seen Ritsu so emotionally upset. “I lost... so many people... I didn’t want to lose Maa-kun too..”

“Kuma-kun.” Sena takes a break from cuddling his crush to bring back seriousness into the atmosphere. “Let’s not.. talk about that part.”

“Izumi-san? Is everything alright?” Makoto voices his worries. “Don’t tell me.. did someone..?”

“Yuu-kun.. I appreciate your concern, but please don’t worry about anything..” Sena plasters a fake smile on his face to reassure the blonde. “Onii-chan is finally here to protect you~♡”

The four boys exchange their greetings, concerns, and relief little by little, for fate to tie them together must certainly mean they have a chance of survival, but they must not remain relaxed for long, as there still remained many worries and tasks to take care of. The whereabouts of Tsukasa and Arashi, the situation behind Switch, and even Hokuto’s status right now was all unbeknownst to them. All they could do is search and pray. If praying even works that is.

“Well.. now that Kuma-kun is reunited with his friend, he won’t cause trouble for a while.” Sena nonchalantly blurted out. “All that’s left is to find Kasa-kun and Naru-kun..”

“Then what?” Mao interrupted.

“Eh..?”

That’s right, they never even thought of what’s beyond that point. All they could focus on was finding their loved ones safe and sound, but how could they forget to plan the next step? Could a front door be an exit? Where would they even go from there? Looking out from the windows, all they see is a blur of trees and fog, for all they could know, this could be an alternate realm. Which was completely a surreal yet plausible thought at most.

“W-We can’t really be stuck here.. can we?” Makoto contemplates.

“Like hell we will!!” Sena argues. “I’d rather be living on the streets like a sad little dog than be stuck in this rotting fire dumpster of a school!”

“Secchan.. your complaining doesn’t help the case.” Ritsu yawns, sleepiness taking over him once more.

“I don’t want to be stuck here either, but we really don’t have a reliable way out, do we?” Mao confronts them with facts, facts that they cannot alter no matter how much they wished to do so.

“No.. I-I don’t want to lose.. more..” Sena grimaces upon the sad, horrible truth. “Ou-sama... Naru-kun... Kasa-kun...”

“Senpai, this won’t do us any good right now.. let’s just keep moving.” Mao, with his completely unbothered attitude, pushes aside the matter.

“You brat, do you even have any idea what we went through?!” Sena stressed.

“Yes, yes I do!!” Mao snapped back eagerly fast. “You see, I had to GO through SO MUCH crap, and by so much, I mean the worst of it, we literally ALMOST died!!”

“I-Isara-kun, calm down!”

“MY BEST FRIEND DIED ALL THANKS TO THIS PLACE!!” Mao lividly burst out his emotions. “AND NOW MY OTHER FRIEND, WHO WE SAW GET KNOCKED OUT IN FRONT OF US, IS MISSING AND GOD KNOWS HE MIGHT BE DE-“

“ISARA-KUN!”

The sound of skin upon skin contact appalled the rest of the room. Makoto had slapped his team mate out of his outraged state, he was simply trying to cut his fumed feelings out.

“STOP IT, ISARA-KUN!!” The blonde stopped Mao in his tracks. “This isn’t how we should behave in a situation like this!!”

“Y-Yuu-kun..” Sena was taken aback by Makoto’s sudden confidence.

“M-Makoto..... I’m..”

“I had.. to see Akehoshi-kun.. get murdered... get.. CRUSHED right in front of my eyes..” Makoto teared up. “But I don’t want to give up yet.. I don’t want to get Akehoshi-kun to resent me... at least.. before I die.. I want to find that girl in the red dress and avenge him!!”

“Wait.. did you say.. girl in the red dress?” Ritsu suddenly halts the group. “I.. I met her before..”

“Huh?!” Sena gasped, as he was not told before about this bit of news. “What do you mean?! You didn’t tell us anything about this!!” 

“Well yeah, I didn’t think it mattered.”

“You dumbass, of course it does!!”

“Oops I guess, anyways, I saw her when I was in the infirmary..” Ritsu squinted at the remembrance of the tragic events at the aforementioned location. “She.. said something about not falling in to darkening or whatever.”

“Haah? The hell’s that even supposed to mean.” Sena grumbled. “So that thing was what gave you that big scar on your back?”

“Scar?? Ritchan, why didn’t you tell me!!” Mao panicked. “L-Let me see if I can treat it!”

“Maa-kun shouldn’t worry, I can handle it.” Ritsu reassured his friend, despite it being a lie. “As for what did this to me, it wasn’t that red dress girl..”

“H-Huh..?” Makoto stuttered. “But why did she try hurting us then...?”

“I dunno.. but I guess I dodged a bullet there..”

“That’s because you decided to run off like an idiot, you were simply lucky to survive.” Sena scolds his unit mate.

“Haa-kun.. wasn’t...” Ritsu whispers to himself.

“Hm? What was that?”

“Nothing. Secchan, stop complaining so we can move.”

Sena remained silent, perhaps it was best to just keep himself out of Ritsu’s troubles. This conversation really got then nowhere in the end, it simply arose more pointless mysterious and difficult questions. Why would the girl in the red dress end the life of the late Subaru, yet spare Ritsu’s life with a warning only? It was highly unusual, lately as of now, the ghosts have only been causing destruction and murder to everything that sets foot on this nightmare land, yet how come this one was different? What did she hold to be so special and unique?

“Izumi-san, I j-just noticed but.. your hand.. it’s..” Makoto glanced at the older boy’s worn out knuckles. They were beat and all scratched up, as well as painfully bloody, although it looks like Sena had at least tried to wipe away the blood, it was still very evident though.

“O-Oh.. this isn’t.. anything, Yuu-kun.” Sena hid his hand instinctively while giving a small, sad smile. “We just got caught up in something, don’t worry~”

“......” Ritsu stared at Sena emotionlessly. If he didn’t want to talk about what truly happened at the time, he had every right to of course. Losing someone close was the last thing they both expected to happen merely a few hours ago... a few hours back when they were all still happy.. enjoying themselves in Yumenosaki Academy.. with nothing to worry about. This.. was not the outcome they all wanted. Not at all.

“Hey, I suggest we start looking for Sakasaki.” Mao proposes out of nowhere. “He’s weird but he knows all about spiritual crap.”

“D-Do you think he’s still alive?” Makoto comments, a bit bitter to spew such words.

“I.... don’t know honestly..” Mao grimly recalls the unfortunate event with the large figured man and his giant sledgehammer. “That thing... might have already... gotten to him.”

“We don’t know for sure!” Makoto refutes.

“Right...”

☆ ————————— ☆ 

“NOO LEAVE US ALONE!!” Hinata screams at the top of his lungs.

Cornered in the middle of the hallway, Koga struggles to keep his thoughts together as everyone flies into mass panic. Upon them stood a man twice the size of them with a hammer that was most likely for murdering the poor trapped victims of this place. Koga wanted to keep the first years safe as much as he could possibly keep them, yet he also had to figure out a way to avoid that large monster, although he couldn’t concentrate on more than one task.

“S-SENPAI DO SOMETHING!!” Tori commanded, his voice was shaky and body quivering in fear.

“SHIT, WE GOTTA MAKE A RUN FOR IT THEN!!” Koga cursed, while tori held Hinata and Yuta’s wrists for safety. “OI, WE’LL PUSH THROUGH!”

Yuta nodded at the 2nd year and held tightly onto Hinata’s hand. “H-How will we do that...?”

Koga honestly did not even bother thinking about it, the only thought running through his mind was ‘escape’ and nothing else. He was never that good at situations with quick thinking. What should they do.. only one thing comes to mind.

“WE RUN AND DON’T LOOK BACK!”

Taking the lead, Koga takes the high risk and dashes towards the horrifying man. Panicked, the twins and Tori follow right through. “I-IS HE INSANE??” Tori screams.

The man begins to swing his large hammer, this won’t end well at this rate. But Koga was still determined, perhaps with this one trick, they’ll all make it out alive.

“HIS SIDE IS UNDEFENDED, TAKE THAT PATH!!”

Koga commands on a rush, as he takes a sharp turn in slipping right past the unblocked space left open by the man with the sledgehammer. “HURRY UP!!!” Koga calls over, not glancing back once, he knows that slowing down to look back is an ultimate death wish for them all.

“UWAA!!” Tori was next to barely slip by, the large man had swung his hammer right at Tori, but thanks to his quick reflexes and short height, he managed to avoid the blow and got away clean and undamaged. “H-HEY WATCH WHERE YOU’RE SWINGIIIING!!”

Agitated, the monstrous man raises his hammer once more, he was most likely aiming for one of the twins now. With Yuta taking the lead, he makes sure he’s holding tight onto his elder brother’s hand. They can do this, they will make it out together, and then..

“YUTA-KUN WATCH OUT!!”

To Yuta’s surprise, Hinata suddenly pushes him out of the way, towards Koga’s direction. He did not even have a lick of a chance to look back when the giant sledgehammer gets swung directly onto Hinata’s head, dropping him right to the cold hard floor.

“ANIKIIIIIIIII!!!” Yuta screams in terror, as he gets up from the ground. The giant man kneels down and grabs an unconscious Hinata by the ankle, and begins to pull him to the opposite direction of the three boys.

“FUCK, SHORTY, HOLD BACK YUTA, I’M GOIN’ AFTER THIS THING!” Koga ordered before running off directly at the man.

“ANIKIIII!!” Yuta tried to run along to save his brother, but surprisingly, Tori had him held back, what a weirdly strong grip.

“N-NO!!! Don’t... R-Ruuun!!” Tori struggled, he wasn’t all that strong after all, but at least he was trying his best to hold the enraged twin back.

“YOU ASSHOLE!!” Koga swore loudly before high kicking the monster down. That was surprisingly easy?

“Oooaaghh...” The man groaned horrifically before he suddenly held his hammer once more and rose it up at immense speed. Koga’s habit is rushing things, and it seems this time, all that rushing truly made things for the worse. Without a second of a breath, the man swung it right down at Koga’s head.

“AAAAAGHHHHH-“ Koga screamed in anguish, as the hit did not knock him out, so the pain immediately took over his system. His head was ringing, his mind foggy and eyes bloodshot with rage and absolute pain. “FUUUUCK AAAGHHH!!”

“SENPAAAAIII!!!” Tori panicked, he had no idea what to do now, he either holds onto Yuta like Koga had told him to do, or act stupid and run towards death.

As if nothing happened, the terrifying man grabbed Hinata by the ankle once more and pulled him away, all while Koga was screaming in terror on the floor by a pool of blood that was most likely coming from his head, or might have been from Hinata, he wasn’t sure, his mind couldn’t focus after all.

As the giant was almost out of sight along with Hinata’s body, Yuta could not take anymore of this restrainment. He breaks Tori off him, pushing him straight to the ground and runs off, ignoring Tori’s pleads and Koga’s anguished calls. “COME BACK HERE!! GIVE ME BACK ANIKI!!!!”

“NOOO!!! YUTAAA!!” Tori wants to run after the other first year, but he could not bring himself to when his senior is right there groaning in pain. “S-SENPAI!!”

“S-Shiiit.. aauughh... fuck.. it h-hurts...” Koga seems to still have it in him, but he was deeply injured, Tori could even see the deep bloody indent on Koga’s head.

“N-No!! H-Hang in there please!!!” Tori has no medical knowledge at all, but he was sure that at this rate, he might end up dying from blood loss. “Uwaa.. I-I.. I don’t.. k-know.. what to do..!”

“Aaghh.. d-don’t worry.. about me.. It hurts.. but I can.. g-get up..” Koga’s voice was raspy and rough. He pushed himself to stand back up on his feet, despite how his head still throb from the pain. He was extremely dizzy, his vision was very wobbly, and his view blurry.

“L-Lean on me!!” Tori offered, despite it not being in his character to usually offer such things to mere commoners, but in a situation like this, he must snap out of these mindsets.

“T-Thank ya...shor...ty......” Koga’s voice trailed off before he suddenly drops straight to the ground once more with a thud.

“SENPAAAII!!!” Tori drops down with him to hold him back, but it seems he had gave in and lost consciousness. “NO NO NO NO NO!!! DON’T DIE DON’T DIIIEEE!!”

Tori began sobbing uncontrollably, he shook Koga’s body a couple of times but was left without a response, he cried even harder, he doesn’t want to be alone, not again, not after he was separated from Yuzuru, he doesn’t want this. Why is this happening?

“N-Nooo... please..!” Tori begged once more before he placed his palm on Koga’s chest. Suddenly raising his head up, he realizes that Koga’s pulse was still present, but extremely weak. He needed help right now. Tori doesn’t even know if there are any medical equipment in this godforsaken place, either way he doesn’t know how to use them so what would be the point. He was stuck to simply hope Koga could remain alive.

“Uuuu... why...” Tori sobs once more. “I’m all alone... again...”

☆ —————————— ☆ 

“I-Is it over..?” Shinobu shivers as he holds tightly onto Midori.

“I.. think so..” Tetora relieved his breath. The earthquake had come to a halt thankfully, but that just led up to getting separated from their seniors. As unfortunate as it was, they could not simply sit around and feel depressed about it any longer.

“Do you think Morisawa-senpai and Shinkai-senpai are alright..?” Midori questions with a low, worried tone.

“I dunno...” Tetora sighs. “I ain’t sure how long we’re gonna stay in here either..”

“M-Might c-captain-dono and Shinkai-dono be waiting for us?” Shinobu suggests.

“I guess they might be, do we check it out?” Tetora indulges onto Midori and Shinobu’s thoughts.

“Well.. better than sitting here..” Midori agrees reluctantly.

“Ossu! Let’s head out!”

The three first years nod heads to each other, as they all get up and begin their long search for their missing seniors. Coming out of the room, they immediately notice that something about the hallway was odd, it felt... slightly different? It looked as if there WAS no earthquake to begin with, it felt like the walls were still intact, unlike before where they looked like they might fall at any moment because of the earthquake. Despite the three clearly realizing that this was not normal, they remained silent and kept moving, it wasn’t like they could do much about the situation. To their dismay, the hallways were unrecognizable, so they could not walk back the way they remember from before the incident, meaning their only clues to the whereabouts of Chiaki and Kanata were now meaningless.

“D-Do we check every room?” Tetora asks, puzzled by the situation.

“I.. guess?” Midori replies just as troubled as Tetora. It was understandable, they were simply kids after all, they had no experience in such terrifying incidents, all they could do was quiver in fear or stay strong and endure as much as they possibly can.

“M-Midori-kun.. I’m.. scared..” Shinobu holds onto Midori’s hand, it was shaking.

“Ahhh... I.. I don’t know what to say..” Midori heavily sighs, he was scared too, but he had to keep Shinobu safe too. “Just because I’m big doesn’t mean I can do anything..”

“Which is why captain wants us to work together!!” Tetora pumps them up. “I know we.. all had lots of trouble working together.. it was the same in compensation festival too.. but.. we passed it.. and now we can pass through this.. together!”

“Tetora-kun...” Shinobu smiles for once finally ever since entering this horrid place. “I am grateful we are all together!”

“Ahah.. I guess.. we really do need to outgrow this.. and work together?” Midori gives a reluctant smile, but it was all Tetora needed to move on.

“Ossu!! Let’s make Ryuseitai live till the end!!” Tetora declares, lighting up the mood for everyone.

The trio exchange smiles to one another as they push forward through this living hell, despite how cruel things were in this place, and despite the countless losses this world had got, they vowed to never give up, they will protect each other no matter what. After a little more of a long discussion, the three had settled on a plan to find Chiaki and Kanata, it was not a very stable plan, but it would work if they had patience. They planned to check every possible room they could on every floor, some floors were blocked by sharp piano wires so those were temporarily crossed off the list, surely their seniors would not have stepped into them anyways. Ending the discussion with this quickly thrown together plan, the trio begins to investigate around the current floor.

“Midori-kuuun~ anythin’ in your room?” Tetora calls out from an opposing classroom.

“Nothing but desks..”

“Hmm, nothin’ here either..”

Their efforts slowly die down, as grim reality slowly sets through them each and every time they check a room only to be welcomed by dust and nothing else. It did not help the fact that the aura around them felt pretty tense, at this rate, they might really be searching for naught.

“AAAAAGHH!!!”

A sudden scream erupts from somewhere, it was familiar, it was Shinobu’s.

“SHINOBU-KUN!!” Tetora bolts out of the class he was investigating to find Shinobu, with Midori only moments later joining him. “WHAT HAPPENED?!”

They stop at the location where Shinobu was checking, he seemed to be safe, which relieved Midori and Tetora, but that scream must have meant something bad happened.

“T-This.. b-b-body.. is...” Shinobu stutters in fear. “Aaaaa... T-This.. cannot..”

Leaning in, the two other boys peak over Shinobu’s head through the classroom, as their eyes go wide at the discovery of a very familiar body. Much too familiar at that.

“K-Kanzaki.. dono..” Shinobu’s tears begin to flow.

Right in the middle of the room was the unfortunate corpse of the 2nd year Souma Kanzaki, who was friends with Shinobu. From the looks of the current scenario before them, it seems he must have fallen out of an upper floor, or three. Tetora walks in to check on the body, much to his disgust of course, he finds out that Souma’s entire neck was blemished in a blueish purple, and was turned at an abnormal angle, meaning his death must have definitely been caused from breaking his neck. 

“This.. is so.. cruel..” Tetora comments, clenching his fist.

“S-Shinobu-kun.. don’t look..” Midori hugs Shinbou towards his chest to calm him down. “I’m so sorry.. Shinobu-kun..”

Shinobu simply cried harder on Midori, staining his vest with wet tears. For someone to die in such a cruel, inhuman way... it was horrible. Tetora knows he couldn’t do much to help Souma now, not even a burial works since they cannot step out. They can only sit around and mourn for his poor soul. 

“The earthquake.. must’ve caught him..” Tetora concludes after a little bit of thinking.

“This is horrible... I.. I hope Morisawa-senpai and Shinkai-senpai didn’t get caught up from it too..”

“Mhm.. I’m super worried now..” Tetora nods his head in dismay, he was worried about not only his Ryuseitai seniors, but his other cherished friends as well, he was sure that even Midori and Shinobu had been restlessly thinking of their other missing loved ones and friends. Tetora sunk deep in thought about his friends, what is Hinata going through right now? Was Kuro safe or no? What is Arashi feeling right now, was she scared? She taught him how to be a true man, he doesn’t want to let her down. He has to stay strong, if his friends are in despair, then he must push through to save them.

“Shinobu-kun.. please don’t cry!” Tetora pats Shinobu’s head. “It’s tough but.. we want to always stay strong for Captain.. okay?”

Shinobu sniffles as he glances at Tetora, giving a small nod while still hugging Midori. “Mhm... o-okay...” Death after death is everything they had been seeing lately, it was not Shinobu’s fault for expressing his sorrow. 

Stay strong.. Tetora tells himself. Stay strong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a super late chapter, I got busy woops
> 
> Twitter: doesemily


	15. No Trace Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The death of his beloved... was it all in vain?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 months until the anniversary of this au woah thank you all for reading up until now!
> 
> Edit: im dumb i fixed some mistake ssorryyy

The rain kept pouring down nonstop, at this point, the calming sounds of the raindrops hitting the tiles was nothing but white noise now. Even with this unending downpour, the blood of the bodies was never washed away, it was a reminder for the mistakes that Chiaki had managed to commit. Mistakes.. that he may never undo.

“K-Ka..na..ta...”

It was very cold, a freezing weather, which was sure to affect Chiaki’s health if he kept standing out in this endless rain. Yet.. what does any of this matter at this point? Life and death were but a string apart for Chiaki, he had lost everything that gave him any last shred of light and hope. His closest partner.. who deeply loved him.. was gone.. dead. What was left? Madara was murdered as well, and the rest of Ryuseitai, the kids, were most likely as good as dead all alone. There was nothing left, nothing but his failure as a hero. “I-I.. couldn’t.. protect you..” Chiaki clenched his fists so hard, it almost felt like his fingers might snap from such pressure. But.. the physical pain of his fists was absolutely nothing compared to the mortifying pain that Kanata must have went through, to die in such cruel way, as if he were but a rag doll that would be disposed of later. Was that even fair? It was nothing short of true torture for the poor late boy.

“Kanata..... I..” Chiaki stood up, looking up solemnly at the cloudy sky, wondering if his eyes were tearing up, or if it was just the rain tainting his face. “I... I won’t.. leave you.. alone..”

His mind was a haze of negativity, blocking his mind from any logical thinking. There was no escape, there was just no way they could ever escape this horrid pit of miserableness. There was but a single solution, one that the old Chiaki would never even want to think of, but now he realizes.. it will set him free from this eternal guilt and suffering. It’s easy.

“I’ll save you.. Kanata.”

Climbing over the oddly sturdy pool ladder, he walks over to the large fence surrounding the rooftop. It looks as if it might give out at any moment, but that doesn’t matter now. Grabbing a hold of the fence and pulling forward, he sets foot upon the netted bars, ever so slowly climbing until he reaches the top. He sits on the slippery edge of it, looking off down into the distance. The ground is very far off, it was slightly covered by fog which blurred the scene, but the height was enough to ensure death if he were to accidentally fall.

Just what he needed.

“Don’t worry.. Kanata.. I’m.. going to be here soon.”

Letting his grip slightly falter on the bar of the fence’s top, he tries suppressing his hesitation. He has no need for living any longer. This is it, the final step to reuniting with his lover. It won’t hurt, it won’t be painful, as long as he finally meets Kanata again, all the suffering will end. He just needs to let go of the fence and fall down to his death. He couldn’t even feel himself any longer, despair took over his entire body. This is the final moment. “I’m sorry.. Kanata.” Chiaki’s fingers twitch, preparing to let go until..

“Chiaki.”

This voice..

“HUH??” Chiaki’s grip on the fence tightens on instinct.

“Chiaki..”

“I.. r-recognize.. that voice.. Kanata..?” Chiaki looks back around him, but nothing stood in the way, he could still see Kanata’s lifeless body down in the pool as well. Was it his imagination?

“Chi.. aki......” The mysterious voice called out once more, leaving Chiaki anxious and puzzled. “Do..... n..ot... di..e...”

“W-WHO’S THERE??” Chiaki’s heart was bumping loudly from fear and bewilderment. He shifts himself around the fence and jumps down to solid ground to investigate, yet he feels as if he might have accidentally shaken something off. As he lands on the ground, the fence behind him suddenly tips and breaks down, falling backwards and off the roof’s edge. “W-Wha-!”

He looks down at the fence that just grounded, hearing the loud thump and cloud of dust erupt from it as it hit land. That was.. a very close one. But more importantly, the voice..!

“K-Kanata..? Is that.. you?” Chiaki called out to absolutely nothing.

“Chi...aki.... dr..ain...”

“KANATA?? PLEASE, WHERE ARE YOU?” Chiaki desperately called out, to no avail. “Where.. is your voice coming from... didn’t.. you.. d-die..”

Suddenly, a brick of realization hits Chiaki straight on the head. Kanata.. he doesn’t want Chiaki to die. Kanata.. he saved Chiaki.

“K-Kanata... this voice..” Chiaki giggles to himself. “Ahah.. I.. I’ve been imagining things, right..?”

Chiaki melancholically looks back at the area where a fence used to reside. If he were to be sitting there for much longer.. he would have been dead already. But the voice.. Kanata’s voice.. it called out to him and stopped him. It helped him.. Kanata.. was the one who saved him in the end. Chiaki was truly an idiot to the core wasn’t he, his partner would never be happy if Chiaki had committed suicide like this. That’s right, his mission isn’t over yet, he can’t just end his life right there, a hero always stands up no matter what keeps him down. Even if he failed to save Kanata.. even if he will forever be guilt tripped by it.. he could never forgive himself if he were to run away now. He still needs to protect the rest of Ryuseitai, and that.. is his final mission, to make sure Kanata can rest in peace.

“I’m.. stupid aren’t I.. Kanata?” Chiaki forces a smile on his face, a very sad one that is. Kanata would want him to stay happy of course.. a hero needs to always put on the biggest smile in the hardest of times. “I won’t let your death be in vain.. I’ll.. save Takamine.. Nagumo.. and Sengoku..!”

A mild breeze flutters by and messes his hair up all of a sudden, causing Chiaki to stumble on his feet and accidentally step on something. “What the..?” By his feet lay a metallic looking object that was slightly rusty. He kneels down to pick up whatever the object. A screwdriver’s rod? What is something like that doing in a place like a rooftop? Suddenly it hits him.. didn’t the voice he heard mention something about.. a drain?

“Drain.. what were you trying to tell me..?” Chiaki looks down at the pool and notices there are four drains on each corner of the pool. One in which Kanata had unfortunately gotten mutilated in. It seems the lid on that one was slightly broken, causing the drainage to forcibly tatter his poor body. What a sick joke this world had played on him. The other three drains were perfectly sturdy and still on the ground, which left Chiaki to wonder what Kanata’s message might mean.

“I-Is.. something in them.. maybe?”

Chiaki hops down the pool, careful not to step on any skeletal remains. Making his way to the first drain near him, he kneels down to try looking through the spaces between the bars, but it was useless of course, it was black as void in there. Maybe a different drain had something, he was really just doing this on a whim.

“Well then, drain number two I suppose.” 

He grimaces as he walks past the clogged up drain with Kanata’s lifeless remains, not wanting to be reminded of the pain, and checks out the next drain lined up. He kneels on the ground to look through the holes once more until he notices some sort of suspicious object resting below. It looks like a small bag, it could fit into his palm probably. He tried to fit his hand through the bars but the space was far too tight for his arm, as it only barely fit his fingers. Cursing under his breath, he ponders on what to do now, it might be important, he couldn’t simply leave it aside like that. Chiaki suddenly remembers the screwdriver rod he found earlier and wonders if it can even work on removing the metal lid. Nodding to himself, chiaki tries to budge the screws on the corners of the drain, but to no avail, it was far too rusty to even move an inch.

“Ahh what now..” he mutters frustratingly. Chiaki’s expertise was never around being a great thinker, as he always faced things head on without thought, so perhaps he must use his brain on this one. What could a screwdriver’s rod even be used on.. it was long enough to maybe slip it through the holes.. wait, that’s it! Chiaki aimed the rod towards the shady small pouch tugging at it here and there, struggling for a while until he finally managed to get a hold of it. He pierced the bag with the sharp tip of the rod and ever so carefully pulled it upwards. It was slightly difficult to maneuver but he somehow pulled it off by sheer luck. The bag was a little bigger than what he could fit through, but with a little hard tug, it was pulled out.

“Hm.. what is this..?”

It was a slightly bloody bag, reeking of a horrible smell, that was not a very good sign of course. On the bag was some sort of name tag with an unfamiliar kanji written on it, it read the words “Yuki Kanno”, a name perhaps, that he had never heard of. Nonetheless, what would a bag be doing in the middle of a pool drain, and what significance does it hold? Chiaki ponders why he would need it in the first place, was there something inside?

“Suspicious bags.. always a bad move to open them but..” Taking a deep breath, he slowly unties the string holding the bag closed, and takes a reluctant peek in. “HUH?!!”

Chiaki holds himself from throwing up after seeing what rest inside the shady pouch. A tongue, seems dry too, disgusting him to the very core of his soul. Who on earth could have done this.. and why would anyone severe a human tongue and place it in here, it was awfully horrible. Who does it even belong to, and why did Kanata want him to find it?

“This is creepy, do I really have to hold onto it..?” Chiaki grumbles, but hides it on him either way, maybe it could prove useful, as a spirit evading charm? Who knows. “Alright.. now onto finding.. the kids..”

Midori, Tetora and Shinobu were still out there running around for their lives, and Chiaki could not bear witness another close member dying on him the way Kanata did. He’s going to protect them even if it’s the last thing he’ll ever do..

“Kanata. I won’t forget you.” Chiaki looks up at the sky once more. “I’ll find a way to bring peace to your soul. I promise.”

☆ ————————— ☆ 

“OPEN UP THE DOOR!!”

Eichi yelled and pleaded, his cries reaching no one at all. He was stuck in a room he does not remember being in at all, and the door was shut tight, not showing any signs of budging open at all. “DAMN IT ALL!!” Eichi cursed, his blood pressure and stress rising unsteadily. This was all bad for his health, as his coughing reached violent levels. He should be glad he’s still not coughing out blood.

He knows not of how he even ended up in this room, all he remembers is that he slowly lost consciousness in front of Wataru, who seemed to be uncharacteristically panicked by it, it would have been a fun sight if it weren’t for the fact that Eichi might be in grave danger as of now. He heavily sighed as he looked at his surroundings, it looked like an office that was used as a teachers lounge, there was nothing but a few desks in here, nothing note worthy. It wasn’t any room that he and Wataru had encountered at all previously, what could have made him suddenly wake up in it? 

Suddenly, he hears the sound of something dropping to the ground.

“W-WHO’S THERE?” No response.

Eichi tries to remain calm and collected, snapping now would be bad on his nerves, yet he couldn’t help but feel this overwhelming anxiety. His body feels as if it were paralyzed, but that was just his fear building up slowly in his body. This room was not normal to say the least. He could be hearing things, but that wasn’t the case, was it. There was definitely someone else in the room besides him. He walked towards a desk that was caked with dust, and tried to take shelter behind it, it was stupid, he thought, but better than dying off.

“...this heavy feeling..” Eichi suddenly felt his head throb, and his throat began to burn from immense pain. “AAGHH!!” Eichi began coughing violently, his throat felt as if a knife had been driven through it. He kept coughing and wheezing, hoping whatever is causing this does not end up killing him. “W-What... the.. hell..”

“Y.. ou..”

“HUH? WHO IS TH- AAAGH” Eichi suddenly heard a voice but was much too late to react, as a black mist suddenly engulfed him by surprise. It wrapped itself all over Eichi’s fragile body, the mist consuming his limbs and blinding Eichi’s sight, as it began coursing through his mouth and eyes. Eichi’s coughing and wheezing were soon interrupted as the mist invaded his insides, his throat was burning ten times more than it were before, as if the mist had set it aflame. His eyes stung so badly, they were on fire as well, and he could not even have enough power to close them. His limbs were bind by the dark mist, he could not even feel them anymore, were they severed? He would feel that though, wouldn’t he. The mist began wrapping itself around Eichi’s neck, squeezing it tightly enough to snap it, but not quite. It seems it wanted to see Eichi suffer through this and not die instantly. Eichi’s eyes began tearing up from the pain, no, these were no tears, it was blood. His eyes felt like they might pop at any moment, and he could feel a horrible metallic taste in his mouth, most likely his own internal bleeding as well. Eichi forced his head to look down, despite his very blurry vision, he could see a pool of blood underneath him, that couldn’t possibly be.. 

“MMPHH!!” Eichi tried his best to scream out anything, but the mist blocked all possible way for him to make any sound. His head began feeling light, and his entire body felt paralyzed, he was out of breath, and he was slowly, slowly dying. His vision went completely dark, but he could still feel the pain of something messing up his throat and going through his organ. He couldn’t even hear his own thoughts anymore, he could only listen to his own struggled grunts and pained moans.

Everything went dark. His body isn’t responding anymore. Did he die?

Suddenly the mist evaporated out of sight, dropping Eichi’s limp body to the ground like a broken doll. His limbs were most likely severed, as he could no longer feel them move, and that splat sound he heard as he hit the ground is most likely his thick pool of blood from the eruption of gushing blood. His vision was still dark, that cursed mist might have blinded him for good. Nonetheless, Eichi tried to gather up his last remaining senses and..

Oh.

He was already dead.

☆ ———————— ☆ 

“C’mon..! D-Don’t die on me!!” Tori pulled on an unconscious Koga, dragging him along wherever he could even go at this point. Tori was left all all alone, Hinata was knocked out and taken away, he wasn’t sure if he was even dead or not, while Yuta ran off to chase after his brother and the horrifying man with the hammer. He wondered what a giant man like this was doing in an elementary school in the first place, let alone killing innocent students around here.

“Oh my..?”

“Huh? That voice..!” Tori’s eyes glimmer with joy, relief washing over him” YUZURU!!”

“Ah!! Bocchama!” Yuzuru rushes towards Tori’s side after countless hours of search, he was feeling as relieved as ever. “I’m so glad.. you were safe..!”

“Y-Yeah.. but.. I’m sorry I ran off.. and got you worried..” Tori sniffles, trying his best not to cry. “President must be really worried too..”

“...yes..” Yuzuru squints at the title, remembering his impatience from earlier. He surveys his surroundings to change the topic until he notices the limp body of his classmate. “Ah! That’s.. Oogami-sama!!”

“Y-Yes! W-We were attacked and he lost consciousness..!” Tori explains. “And.. the Aoi brothers.. I-I don’t.. know.. where they went..”

“We can worry about them later, for now let me handle Oogami-sama’s case.” Yuzuru nods to Tori and picks up his classmate to lift the weight off his young master. “Could you explain in detail as to what happened to him?”

“Well.. t-there was a large.. scary.. man with a big hammer.. he hit senpai on the head.. and.. Hinata-kun was also attacked.. and dragged away.” Tori explains in length, tears betraying him and falling down his flushed cheeks. 

“Oh my.. I apologize for not arriving in time.. bocchama..” Yuzuru’s face is painted in guilt after the realization that Tori went through all this on his own. “I take the other twin had run off after his sibling?”

“Yeah.. Senpai told me to stop him.. but..”

“Bocchama..”

hurried footsteps suddenly echo loudly, startling the two boys, as Yuzuru takes a defensive stand in front of his young master, he will not allow anyone to cause his master anymore suffering. But for now, this was not the case, with a few more seconds, a man that Yuzuru very much recognized appears, one that he had met on multiple occasions. None other than the leader of Undead, Rei Sakuma.

“KOGA!!” Rei uncharacteristically calls out as soon as he spots Yuzuru and Tori along with the fainted Koga.

“H-Hold up, Sakuma-saaan!” Kaoru follows soon after, seemingly out of breath, beside him was Adonis, which bore an extremely worried expression. This world really brought out the unexpected faces of everyone, Yuzuru thought to himself, of course that included himself.

“Uwah! That’s the vampire!” Tori recalls.

“No..!! Were we.. too late?!” Rei approaches Yuzuru and tries to check on Koga. “Please!! Tell me he’s still alive!”

“Haah.. it is nice to see you too, Sakuma-sama.” Yuzuru sighs. “And please do not worry, according to bocchama, he should be alive.”

“Yeah but he’s really hurt!!” Tori exclaims “I think he’s still bleeding!!”

“Yikes.. w-we should bandage it up!” Kaoru suggests. “H-He couldn’t have lost that much blood..”

“I am afraid that will be difficult.” Yuzuru’s expression turned grim. “He’s.. lost much.. and this place most definitely does not have any clean medical equipment.”

“Even the infirmary?” Adonis adds.

“This is an abandoned elementary school, so there is not a lick of life here.” Yuzuru begrudgingly explained.

“We.. We gotta get out of here fast then!!” Tori desperately announces. “C-Can’t we just bust a window open and climb down?”

“Little one.. I am afraid that cannot happen.” Rei melancholically tells the smaller boy, hopelessness obvious in his voice. “This world.. is not normal you see.”

“Hey, Sakuma-san, we can explain later, for now, we still need to ask about the twins.” Kaoru interrupts. “They were supposed to be with dog-chan here, right?

“Ah..” Tori hesitates upon hearing about the twins, because he knows exactly where they are and what might have happened to then later on.

“That is true.. I remember in the vision, they were all together when they.. n-nevermind.. but they were together nonetheless!” Rei tries dodging the matter of his deja vu vision, and focuses on the main point.

“The twins.. they..” Tori begins with hesitation. “T-They.. were attacked.. a big man took Hinata.. and I couldn’t.. stop Yuta... from..” Tori couldn’t handle remembering the scene over and over again, and now much less from the pressure.

“Shh.. Bocchama.. it is okay.. you did your best..” The loyal butler smiles and takes Tori into his embrace in means to soothe his guilt. “I am very proud of you for surviving without me..”

“Y-Yuzuru..!” Tori breaks into sobbing as he clenches tightly onto his close servant, or rather he’s not a mere servant, but a close cherished friend.

“Not to cut your emotional moment and all but..” Kaoru interrupts once again. “If we don’t hurry and find the twins, Sakuma-san might cry.”

“I-I shall not..” Rei embarrassingly refutes. “But he is correct, we must move hastily before..”

“They’ll be fine, Sakuma-san.” Kaoru gives him a big reassuring smile. “Trust in me..!”

☆ ———————— ☆ 

“ANIKIII!!” Yuta calls out, but gets no response, no matter how many times he calls his name. He lost his big twin brother along the way when the giant man kidnapped him, leaving Yuta fumed and utterly mad. He slowly took the moment to realize that at the same time, he caused his classmate and senior lots of trouble, they must be looking for him as of now.

“I-I’m.. sorry Oogami-senpai, I need to find aniki.. no matter what!” Yuta musters up his courage and braces himself for what’s soon to come. If he was going to go head first into finding his brother, he might as well be fully prepared for the consequences of abandoning his two friends. “Hm..?”

By his feet, he notices a dark red trail leading to all the way to a secluded classroom, it must have been.. blood. But more importantly, who’s blood. The red streak seems to be quite discomfortingly fresh, that was not a good sign at all. “This.. couldn’t be.. Aniki’s...” but that was simply hopeless wishing.

He followed the trail reluctantly, afraid of what’s to come next, what if it was really his brother’s blood? But he had to stay hopeful about this.. maybe it’s a random stranger who was just very unfortunate. The blood’s trail grew fainter and fainter the more he followed it, and it lead to the classroom he has yet to check out. To be frank, he was terrified out of his mind, what if the killer was still inside? It’d certainly kill him on the spot if he doesn’t die from a heart attack first.

“Please.. don’t be Aniki..”

Yuta tantalizingly slowly pulls the sliding classroom door to the side, and his stomach flips at the sight.

“A-Aaa..?”

Horrible, cruel, and absolutely sickening was all he could feel about this. His guts couldn’t take this, his knees grew weak and betrayed him, lodging him to the ground as his pupils widened from shock and despair. Right in front of his eyes was the lifeless body of his older twin, Hinata, he was dead, and he did not need to check his pulse to guess that, as his brother’s head was already half-smashed to bits. The sight was certainly disgusting enough to cause Yuta absolute silence and defeat. Hinata’s head was smashed in, well, his left side at least. While the right remained slightly unscathed, but the last expression on his face told him everything. His safe eye was open wide and pupils so out of focus, his entire face was covered in splotches of blood most likely from his head as well.

“You’re.. joking..” Yuta stared in disbelief. “Right..?”

But it was the truth. The bitter, sad truth. His brother was gone, his elder brother that gave him so much love, despite what Yuta wanted otherwise... his cherished loved brother... is dead. Yuta was not fast enough. The heavy guilt now rest on his shoulders, pulling him down so low, so so low, he couldn’t feel alive any longer.

“A-Aahh..”

So this is what a darkening spirit feels like.

☆ ———————— ☆

The ropes were successfully tight enough now, everything was ready to go. There was no going back. His brother is waiting for him on the other side.

“Excuse me for the intrusion.”

Yuta slips off his sneakers, and climbs onto the bucket he had found near the bathrooms in the hall. The rope should suffice, he was not that heavy after all. A paper falls out of his pocket in preparation, it was the Sachiko Forever After charm he performed with the other students. Come to think of it, they never found Tori’s lost piece, not that it matters anymore, he won’t be needing his once this is over.

The rope was rough, and not very pleasant for the touch, but perhaps it would make the process much faster, even if it will hurt. Even if it leaves scars. Pulling the rope over his head, he tightens the loop around his delicate neck, brushing aside his slightly long hair. The noose should serve its purpose now.

“Aniki, please wait for me.”

Yuta takes a deep breath before he kicks away the bucket, and the rope instantly tightens around his neck, leaving the first year hanging in a struggle. “HnnghH!” It hurts so much, it’s so painful, his neck feels like it’s on the verge of breaking. His mind is foggy, and his breathing is very shallow but soon, his breathing is going to cut. His wind pipes are slowly getting crushed from Yuta’s weight on the rope, it doesn’t seem it will tear anytime soon. Yuta’s eyes are widened in fear and pain, tears keep streaming down yet he doesn’t manage to mutter a scream nor any word. His teeth were clenched and hands instinctively trying to grab on the ropes, he was already on death’s door.

“HngnGHHH..!”

His vision was very soon enveloped with darkness. Soon, he was lifelessly swinging. He had joined his brother. 2Wink are inseparable.

Correct?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thats alot of dead people in one chapter, please stay tuned for more pain
> 
> Twitter: @doesemily


	16. One Last Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is it worth living till the end?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been SO LONG but hello I’m back! I didn’t upload in a while since I wanted to focus on art, but now I’m here!
> 
> Happy Halloween!! (Its november emi) merry christmas

The rumbling of the school never ceased, the floor shook with great tremor, Natsume feared it might give out on them at any time. Tsumugi shielded the three boys from any shattering glass and possible falling floorboards, but at this rate, Tsumugi might get seriously hurt, Natsume had to help him somehow.

“S-SenPAI, YOU don’t HAVE TO do this!!” Natsume pleaded, but his senior’s determination was much too solid to give in just yet.

“Natsume-kun.. just stay safe and don’t question it!!” Tsumugi snapped back at Natsume, which was a first for the latter.

The earthquake showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, the more it rumbled, the more Natsume began to panic. Why won’t this end already?!

“Ahh..!! S-Shishou!” Sora suddenly broke Natsume’s train of panic. “S-Sora can see the colors of a spirit nearby!” Natsume gasps, but right now was not a suitable time to find it, at least not until the tremors settle down. Or that was what Natsume had intended on doing according to his plan, but Sora seems to have other ideas in mind. Without warning, the little boy broke out free from Tsumugi’s protective embrace and ran off into the dangerous direction where all the rubble began to fall.

“SORAAA!!” Natsume screamed out desperately. “SENPAI I’M GOING AFTER HIM!!”

“SAKASAKI NO!” Hokuto clings onto his classmate, who refuses to cooperate. “S-SAKASAKI CALM DOWN!”

“SORAAA- AGH!“ As he tries to pry out of the other boy’s grasp, he is cut short of his action when Tsumugi drives a hit to his nape and sends him unconscious, falling into his arms. “I’m sorry, Natsume-kun.”

...  
.....

☆ ————————— ☆

“Will he be okay?”

“Don’t worry, Hokuto-kun~” Tsumugi smiles pleasantly. “He’s just sleeping for now.”

Resting in yet another classroom, the two boys, along with an unconscious Natsume, sit along the floors of the room. The earthquake had calmed down and there remained no more rumbling, but things were not as bright and dandy as they were hoping for, Sora had run away somewhere, and none of them had a clue as to where. The situation was getting rougher than before, but Tsumugi was certain this notebook could save them. There were a few more spirits left, surely they have a chance, they took down one, it’s only a matter of time until they satisfy them all.

“D-Did you really have to knock him out like this?” Hokuto looks at his senior in caution.

“It’s fine~ It’s fine~” Tsumugi giggled. “He would have died if he ran along to Sora-kun’s aid..”

“Well.. it’s true, the walls crumbled down as soon as he was knocked out.. it would have been bad if he ran..” Hokuto looks down at Natsume sleeping in peace. “Still.. felt a little.. harsh”

“Hokuto-kun.” Tsumugi’s tone went serious all of a sudden. “There are times where risks are the only possible options.”

“Risks.. huh..”

“Now then, let’s not get too gloomy~” Tsumugi lightened up the mood a little. “Say, is there anyone you’d like to see soon?”

“Someone I’d like to see.. Trickstar, of course.” Hokuto reminiscences. “Ah, I’m also a little worried about Tomoya.. I’m certain he’ll be okay but..”

“Ahaha~ I get you~ I’m also sooo~ worried about some people, like Mika-kun and Shu-kun~” Tsumugi pauses. “Ah and probably Eichi-kun.”

“I see.. it’s natural to think of your friends in situations like this..”

“I’m especially worried about Natsume-kun and Sora-kun though..” Tsumugi muttered. “Sora-kun is a smart boy.. I’m sure he’ll be fine...”

“So you have that much faith in him?”

“I suppose so..”

And with that, the two went quiet, leaving nothing but the awkward silence between them. It was a bit unsettling for Hokuto, seeing as he was suspicious of Tsumugi for a while now. The thought was cut short as Natsume began to shift slightly in his sleep, he must be slowly waking up.

“Nn.. huh..”

“Good morning, Natsume-kun~” Tsumugi greeted the younger boy with a smile.

“Sen..pai.....?” Natsume rubbed his eyes, sitting up straight. “Where..?”

“Sakasaki..! Are you okay?” Hokuto kneeled down near his classmate, helping him balance himself. “Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Nngh.. n-nevermind THAT..” Natsume flinched as he rubbed his temple in pain, nonetheless, he shifted his attention to his senior. “SenPAI.”

“Ahaha~ Sorry sorry, I didn’t want to do it, but it was for the better..” Tsumugi apologized. “You can hit me all you want once we’re out of here, okay~?”

“Tch.. you DISGUST me..” Natsume winced at the comment. “More importantly, where is SORA..?”

“Ah.....” Tsumugi paused, while Hokuto decided to remain silent for the better. “.....”

“SenPAI? Hokkee-KUN?” Natsume awaited an answer, but all he received was a silent stare that left him with anxiety. “Where... IS SORA?”

“Sakasaki I can explai-“

“He ran off.” Tsumugi bluntly hits Natsume with the cold hard truth. “I couldn’t find him on my own, and didn’t want anything bad to happen to you..”

“...Sora.. is not HERE?” Natsume blankly stared at Tsumugi, expression hard to decipher. “Sora.. is.. LOST..? In THIS place..?”

“S-Sakasaki.. take a deep breath please!” Hokuto tried to calm the suspense building up within Natsume.

“Ah. Hokkee-KUN. Don’t worry.” Natsume forced an eerie smile. “I’m FINE.”

“Oh my.. please don’t take your anger out on Hokuto-kun..”

“SHUT up. You.. You ruined..” Natsume gritted through his teeth. “YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!”

“Ah~ he snapped, please get back, Hokuto-kun~” Tsumugi warned.

“Sakasaki, don’t say tha-“

“HOKKEE-KUN.” Natsume snapped at Hokuto, his eyes filled with anger. “ENOUGH.”

That alone sent shivers down Hokuto’s spine, he had never seen his classmate consumed with such rage before. His eyes were fiery with wrath, fists clenched and shaking, as if he could hit his senior at any given moment, teeth gritted and heart audibly beating fast. He was like a ticking bomb ready to go off.

“I already know that everything was my fault, Natsume-kun.” Tsumugi weakly smiles. “You have every right to hate me for this.. I just.. wanted you to stay safe..”

“WELL SORA IS GONE THANKS TO THAT!!” The red head snapped back angrily. “DO YOU THINK I EVEN CARE IF I DIE??”

“N-Natsume-kun.. don’t say that!”

“SHUT UP SHUT UP AHHHH YOU BASTARD!!” Rage taking over him, he throws a punch at Tsumugi, in which the latter does not even try to defend. “EVERYTHING WAS YOUR FAULT!!”

“OW?!” 

“SAKASAKI PLEASE!!” Hokuto rushes to hold his classmate back, his eyes were filled with blood lust, he had to keep him away from Tsumugi.. or else things might get bloodier than expected. “WILL YOU PLEASE CALM DOWN!?” He struggled with holding back against Natsume, who was eagerly fighting to release himself from within his grip.

“Awawa.. this really hurt, you know!” Tsumugi puffs his cheeks at it with fakery before turning it to a smile. “Not that I can feel pain anymore.”

“I’LL KILL YOU, BASTARD!!” Natsume spat. “EVEN IF IT MEANS SACRIFICING MYSELF!”

“Natsume-kun, you’ve really given in to your emotions much lately..” The blue haired man frowns upon his junior. “How disappointing.”

“L-Listen, Sakasaki! Why don’t we search for your child instead of wasting your energy on Aoba-senpai?” Hokuto suggests.

“....TCH!” Natsume quits his struggle, seemingly giving up at last. “I’m ONLY doing this FOR HOKKEE-KUN.”

The redhead takes a deep, exhausted sigh before he drops to the floor, curling up in a ball. His eyes are less deadly now, but more sorrowful, and filled with sadness and weariness. Everything was going wrong from beginning to end, first he lost Subaru, and now, he lost Sora. What did he do to deserve such punishment? Was it all the wrath he held towards his senior? Or could it be that God was simply playing a trick on him? Before he even knew it, his eyes began watering up, he was crying.

“S-Sakasaki..” Hokuto sits down next to him and gives him a hug from pity. “I’m sorry..”

“Natsume-kun. I really ruined everything, huh...” Tsumugi blankly stared at the boy cry his sadness away, wishing he could do the same. But he had to stay strong, if he were to show fear and sadness now, his juniors wouldn’t feel safe anymore. “Sora-kun must have sensed a spirit, let us move and find it before Sora-kun gets into danger.”

“....f-fiNE..” Natsume sniffed, while wiping away the tears from his swollen eyes. “If anything happens to Sora... I WILL BE SURE TO MAKE YOU REGRET BEING BORN.”

“Threatening me right after crying, how cute~” Tsumugi gushes. “Let’s get moving now, shall we~?”

The duo nod as they step outside the room, leaving Tsumugi to think for himself before following. He mutters to himself.

“No promises, though.”

☆ ————————— ☆ 

“Ngaahh.. This ain’t the place..?” Mika scavenged the hallways, as Shu overlooked him from aside. “Where coulda’ she gone..”

“Kagehira? What are you doing fooling around like this?” Shu snaps Mika out of his search with his question. “Don’t tell me, are you still looking for Mademoiselle?”

“A-Aye!” Mika squeaks.

“For Goodness’ sake, I had already told you a myriad of times, it is not important right now.” Despite saying so, he still felt very lonely without his dear doll at his side.

“Y-Yer right..” Mika lowers his head, in truth, he wasn’t even looking for Mademoiselle. He was looking for the girl in the red dress that he had met before in the corner of that empty classroom. The things she told him.. they intrigued him, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t want to learn more about this darkening thing. Just who was this little girl, and how did she know about Natsume?

“Ah, this room is.. the art room? This.. was not here before.” Shu stops in place. “I might as well check in.”

“Ah, wait Oshi-sa-“ As Shu steps into the room, the door suddenly forcefully closes and locks Shu into the room. “OSHI-SAN?!” Mika bangs on the door, luckily he gets a very light response from Shu. “Kagehira! I’m fine! Are you okay?!” Shu manages to shout out, which is barely audible to Mika, but he still managed to hear him, which reassured his heart.

“Ngaahh.. How’m I gon’ get Oshi-san outta here..” Mika tries fiddling with the lock, but to no avail, it was stuck in place. At least he doesn’t seem to hear any bad noises from the inside of the room. Did he need to solve some cliche puzzle or something so this door could open up?

“Need help?” An ominous voice appears.

“Ah, if ya could then thank ya dearly!” Mika replies, before he is hit with the realization. “W-W-Wait!?” The heterochromatic boy’s anxiety hits the top of the throat as he turns around to face his most probable impending doom. A little girl, very familiar at that. A striking red dress. It was the same girl he had met before.

“Y-Yer.. that kid..!” Mika stares dumbfounded. “I didn’ catch yer name though..”

“That boy with red hair..” She completely ignores Mika apparently. “He is trying to take him away.”

“H-Huh? I don’ get ya..?”

“Your beloved master. The red haired boy with the spiritual power.. what was it again..” She playfully twiddled with her fingers, clearly up to mischief.

“N-Nakkun..” Mika recalled it all. Natsume’s friendliness and closeness to Shu.. that should have been him.. not Natsume.

“Don’t you think he should go away?” She suggests. “If he dies, that would be very sad.. but wouldn’t that mean he would not get in the way anymore?”

“H-He’s... gettin’... in ma way....” 

“If he dies, then your master is all for yourself.”

“Oshi-san.. all.. fer me...”

The more he thought about, the more it made sense, despite how chaotic it may have sounded. It was illogical, even insane, but what part of him was ever sane since entering a threshold of pain and misery like this school. He just had to think of Natsume as an annoying, pesky, and dirty bug that’s getting in the way. Shu will forget all about him once he’s dead, and then he can live happily with his dear Oshi-san. How perfect.

“....Ah..” Mika speaks up. “Yer right. Nakkun.. I gotta... kill ‘em..?”

“How vioLENT.” A very familiar voice echoes from a distance.

“T-THAT VOICE?!” Mika reaches to his pocket in preparation to pull out his scalpel, it couldn’t actually be...

“Mika-KUN.” This voice could only belong to.. Natsume Sakasaki.

“W-What are ya doin’ here..?” Mika carefully pulls out his scalpel, this is way too convenient for Natsume to suddenly show up. “Y-Ya ain’t with Tsumu-chan-senpai..?”

“We separated to SEARCH for Sora-KUN.” Natsume grumbled. “Thanks to SENPAI.” He seemed awfully normal, just like the usual Natsume he knew, but for him to just show up out of the blue like this... it was suspicious, almost too suspicious. “Right, is Shu-NII-SAN around?”

The sole mention of his master’s name gave him the chills, he almost didn’t want to answer him. “W-Waddaya want from ‘em..”

“Simply his HELP. You see.. I’m very SUSPICIOUS of senPAI.. he has been acting.. OFF.” Natsume looks Mika straight in the eyes. “Please.. HELP me out, Mika-KUN.”

Help him? How could he even help him? Let alone for SHU to help. Was he in a life threatening danger, Tsumugi wouldn’t hurt his own closest friends. At least.. he didn’t think that he would. Then again, this is Tsumugi, he was pretty unstable before all of the mess, he wouldn’t be surprised if things went south with Switch.

“Fine.. Oshi-san’s in ‘ere..” Mika points to the room beside him with the locked door. “I’m tryin’ to get it open!”

“Ah, a DOOR.”

“Yesh, I can see that.”

“Fufu.. how very LIKE you. No wonder Shu-NII-SAN favored that small SENIOR more.” Natsume nonchalantly spurts out.

“Huh...?”

“You probably got SHU-NII-SAN in so much TROUBLE already. He must be HORRIBLY SICK of you.” Natsume grins creepily. “You could ALREADY see how his TREATMENT is FAR more KIND with the other ECCENTRICS and I.”

“Hng.. s-so what!?” Mika clenches on his clothes, he hates to admit it but Natsume was right in every word he said. Shu hated him.. right?

“Every first year had been COMPLIMENTED and LOVED by Shu-NII-SAN, even I receive his KINDNESS.” Natsume laughs while approaching Mika, his eyes filled with mischief. “You must have been the DEAD WEIGHT that your MASTER ever so REGRETTABLY decided to take responsibility for.”

“B-Back off..!!” Mika began to shiver from fear, his miscolored eyes were shaky and his legs felt like they could have betrayed him and given out at any moment. Was this harsh reality too much for him, he wonders.

“Shu-NII-SAN complains to me EVERYDAY, you know~?” Natsume’s surroundings feel distorted in Mika’s vision, the only thing he could see was the nightmares that shaped themselves in his eyes. “You’re as good as DEAD IN FRONT OF SHU-NII-SAN.”

“H-Huh......? Huh..? W-wha...” Mika couldn’t notice but his body felt very light, as a dark mist surrounded his entire body, was this the darkening that little girl had spoken of? Will this be his end? To die by the hands of Natsume? This was the ending that the script had written for him as Shu’s last puppet.. to die by the hands of the boy that was donned as the main hero. Shu would be happy, wouldn’t he. That’s right, he’ll do anything for his dear Oshi-san.. so if Shu wanted him dead.. then he will just have to accept his death and sink into the darkening. “O..shi... san...” Mika couldn’t feel anything anymore, no emotions, no pain. He was empty. He didn’t care anymore. Even if he were to die, he would not bat an eye to it.

“Such a SHAME, two YEARS wasted on a USELESS puppet such as YOU.”

“Use..less..” that was true.

“In fact, you were USELESS to EVERYONE.”

“.....”

“Do you UNDERSTAND?”

“....”

“You don’t need to be ALIVE for him anymore.”

“.....”

That.. was wrong.. he had to stay alive.. that’s right.. he can’t die now..! What was he even thinking, if he were to die now, who would protect his master? This.. it was all a trap set up so he could give in to the darkening.. it was all.. that little girl’s doing!

“I.. I... I WON’T DIE!!” Mika began to regain his senses, this mist surrounding him must have been trying to suffocate him, but now that Mika is conscious again, he could feel every bit of pain in his nerves, yet the adrenaline of panic and anger helped him stay alive. “YER JUST TRYIN’ TO TRICK ME!!”

“Tch! Already NOTICED?” His vision of which was obscured by the mist had begun to fade, as well as his struggle that began to get much more lenient. “YOU PEST!”

“AAAAUUUGGHHH GET LOOOST!!” Mika heavily pulls out the scalpel he had kept in his pocket and charges at Natsume while screaming, his voice cracking in all sorts of tones. “I WON’T LET YA GET OSHI-SAN!!”

Natsume ever so easily manages to dodge the blade flying at him, and steps behind Mika, giving him a startle, in which Mika ends up dropping the scalpel. “Don’t get cocky, kid.”

“HUH!?” 

Before he realized it, Natsume had suddenly vanished from his line of sight, nowhere to be seen. The heterochromatic boy turned around, expecting the red head to be there, but his expectations were false. He just.. disappeared? “N-Nakkun..?” Mika turns around in a circle like a curious cat, thinking the shorter boy could turn up somewhere, but that as well, was wrong. “Didja run away..? Nakkun.. wouldn’t do tha- OW!” Mika suddenly felt a strike of pain coming somewhere from his body, his limbs felt heavy, and he suddenly felt very cold, as if someone’s presence sent him the chills.

“Useless kid.”

..was the last thing he heard before a fist of pain breaks through his chest and out. “H..uh...?” His heart was right there, he always wondered what his own heart looked like. He looked down shakily, his eyes going wide, his whole body had gone cold, his blood was heavily spilling down and all over him.. what a shame, this uniform was specially tailored by his Oshi-san too.. for it to get all bloodied up like this... “t-this... wasn’.. suppose’ to.. happ..en....”

The fist gruesomely pulls back out of his chest, completely ripping out his heart from his place as the blood began to spray everywhere, leaving Mika balanced by the last shreds of life he could possibly even have at this point... that is until he gives the door in front of him one last glance, muttering his last word, along with some blood that began to slither out and down his jaw. “O..shi.. sa......” and so, he dropped down with a very loud, and awfully cruel splash on his own pool of blood.

“I couldn’t even use you to kill that annoying red bug.” 

A girl in a red dress says to herself.

☆ ———————— ☆ 

“KAGEHIRAAAA!!” Shu, who was on the other side of the door, kept banging hard, in hopes it could open up magically, or Mika could get him out, that works too. “Ugh, that boy, he’s taking too long to get a simple door open.”

Shu looked around him, it was really just some dirty as usual room, most likely as he presumed, an art room. Looking around him were many sprawled out desks and broken canvases, as well as creepy drawings stapled on the walls. Who thought it was a good idea to hang these things around?

“Disgusting... this place just oozes of bad feeling.”

The pink haired man looks deeper into each sheet of paper on the wall, they were all drawn on with child-like pictures, but upon closer inspection, the drawings feel oddly disturbing. As if they were made with malicious intent. He removed one if the papers from the wall to give it a closer look. It was an innocent looking drawing that was obviously by a child, but the theme it held.. it creeped Shu out, honestly. A group of children, it seems, circling around an adult.. man..? It didn’t seem very, per say, innocent.

“What on Earth is this hellish room..”

Looking at more drawings, they begin to feel much more distorted and disturbing, from children circling around an adult, to drawings of children covered in blood.. with weapons.. murdering said adult. It all seems to be horrifying with how kiddish they look. Did kids really draw these horrid things?

“I am absolutely astonished by the sheer disgusting energy radiating out of these eyesores of a drawing.”

Heavy words, he thinks, but no one is here to listen to him at the moment, so he might as well let himself fume his anger a little. That was his initial plan.. until he suddenly heard the sounds of someone screaming on the outside, his mind immediately goes to..

“K-KAGEHIRAAA?!” Shu called out, running towards the door as he tries to see through the dirty blurry windows, but all he could see was a black mist blocking the way, another scream erupted, which sounded just like Mika. “NO! WHAT’S HAPPENING, OPEN UP PLEASE!!”

Shu began desperately pulling and pushing on the door, yet it did not even budge slightly, as if it were an ornament on the wall. Not so long after the screams begin to fade, a bright red covers the window, one he hopes it is not what he thinks it is. “I-Is this.. blood..!?”

Shu’s knees felt weak, he felt as if he could drop at any moment, this was all too sudden, he enters a room and now suddenly, his unitmate is possibly...

“OPEN THIS DOOR!!” Shu yelled once before, he pulled the door with all his might, and surprisingly, it actually opened this time around, sheer force or magic, he wonders. The sudden opening caused him to trip and fall directly onto his face on the cold floorboards.. wait.. that was not what was cold. It was... red...deep, scarlet red.. blood. “H-Huh..?” He lifts his head and tries to get on his knees but when his vision comes in contact with the certain someone..

“A-Ah...?”

On the floor right in front of him was Mika. Lifeless on the ground, as the blood was oozing out of him. With this much blood, he might have to doubt if this was even worth thinking that he’s okay. Mika was, without a doubt, dead. The gaping hole in his chest could clearly show that. “Ka...ge..hira...?” Shu choked on his words, he didn’t notice this but tears were already invading his eyes completely.

Shu began to shake his junior’s lifeless body, as if he were just asleep, but his wide open and bloodshot eyes are certainly not a sign that he was in the slightest. “H-Hey... K-Kagehira...” he shook him once again. “W-Wake.. up..” but there was no response. “Aaah.... aah.... M..Mika....”

He was already dead.

“AAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!!!!”

☆ ——————— ☆ 

“Tomo-chin, your wound is bleeding again!!”

“Huh? Oh.. I guess the cloth was too soaked up to hold it much longer..” 

Ever since splitting up with Hajime and finding their partner’s corpse, things were not very bright for them. Tomoya’s wound began to hurt even more now, and kept bleeding occasionally, without medical equipment, he was going to have to endure this for a while, at least until they find a way out.

“Here, I’ll cut off another piece of fabric to cover it up!” Nazuna reassures him as he takes off his jacket.

“Ahah.. sorry for the trouble, nii-chan..” Tomoya humbly apologizes.

“Nonsense! It wasn’t your fault to begin with!” Nazuna puffs his face. “I should be the one apologizing to Tomo-chin..”

“Nii-chan, you tried to protect me.. I’m grateful for that.” Tomoya smiles sweetly, melting Nazuna’s heart. “I-I.. don’t want you to take on all the guilt of losing Mitsuru..”

“...Mitsuru-chin... I wonder.. if he’s mad with me..”

.........  
......  
..

“Nii-chan! I’ll get help for us!!” Mitsuru cheerfully took on the full responsibility and dashed away from the group of rabbits.

“M-Mitsuru-kuuun!!” Hajime called out to him, but to no avail, he was already gone, he wasn’t called the fastest runner in Yumenosaki for nothing after all.

“Uwaa!! T-Tomo-chin, Hajime-chin! We have to get him fast!!” Nazuna commanded, as he began to sprint towards Mitsuru’s direction, Tomoya directly following him.

“Huhh? Aaah!! P-P-Pleasee! Wait up!” Hajime tried to run up to them, yet his weak stamina had him at his last breath at every minute of running.

☆ 

“Dash dash daaash~!” Mitsuru kept dashing everywhere throughout the halls of the school, before stopping in his tracks upon a set of stairs. “Wowowow! Waaah, I almost tripped down here! That was scary~” Mitsuru looked at his surroundings carefully, as he noticed that these stairs were not normal at all. Upon closer inspection, he noticed some sharp looking silver strings in the way, from the looks of them, they felt like they could easily cut through anything

“I wonder who put these here, I hope nobody runs into them...” Mitsuru pouts. “Huh? D-Did I get lost?”

And apparently so, he did. The area was not familiar at all to him, and there were no signs of Nazuna nor his other friends around, maybe he’ll just retrace his steps! He wished he could have just dropped bread crumbs in his path, but that would be a waste... now he’s really craving some bread.

“I’m just gonna have to buy the whooole bread store’s bread when I get home!” Mitsuru sing-songs to himself. “Hm?”

Suddenly, a little child appears in front of him.

“O-Oh! W-Were you always here?!” Mitsuru jumps from surprise. “You seem a little.. pale!”

Pale does not even begin to describe it. The child in front of him was very ghastly, and looked very... dead. It was a little girl with long black longs and a bright red tattered dress. Was she lost too?

“Hey, little miss! Your dress is all ruined, I know! Nii-chan can fix it up for you!” Mitsuru brightly starts up a conversation with the little girl. “My name is Mitsuru Tenma! What’s yours?”

“...” She gave no reply.

“Are ya shy? It’s ok! I’ll be your big bro and help you out! Did you get lost~? Is your mommy around?”

At that, she raised her head and directly looked at Mitsuru’s eyes. Her own were as empty as a dead fish’s eyes. It slightly creeped him out, honestly. The little girl tilted her head to the side, showing curiosity, before she gave him a wide, uncomfortable smile.

“She is.”

Was the last thing she said, before she shoved Mitsuru with incredible strength towards the bottom of the stairs.

“Eh?”

With that shove, he felt incredible pain as he went flying down the set of stairs, as if swords were cut into him, blood spurred out of his limbs, and his vision blurred out insanely quick. The last thing he heard were the indistinguishable eruption of a witch-like laughter from above the stairs. He couldn’t feel his body anymore, his vision blacked out, and his lids felt heavy.. this.. was his end.

........  
....  
.. 

“Is this tight enough, Tomo-chin?” Nazuna wrapped the replacement bandage around Tomoya’s arm where the wound was.

“Yeah, it’s good, thanks!” Tomoya gave it an extra tug. “Hey.. Nii-chan, aren’t you sad about ruining your uniform like this?”

“Hm? Not really, it’s more important to keep you well and healthy than to care about a silly uniform!” Nazuna puts his jacket back on, even though it seems to be in shambles due to how much he’d ripped out of it.

“I know you’re graduating and all.. but I just thought you’d keep it a memoire..”

“I’m glad you thought of that, I did consider.. but I think it’s best to move on from things than to keep ideally clinging onto the past.” Nazuna mentions, from experience, he knows exactly how it feels to live that quote on. “By the way, when we find Hajime-chin, let’s.. not tell him about Mitsuru-chin.”

“Eh..? We can’t really keep it a secret.. can we?” Tomoya argued. “He would get much more hurt if we kept it from him, you know?”

“Yes yes I know!” Nazuna admits. “I just.. don’t want him to get upset..”

“Well.. let’s find him first, then we can discuss..” Tomoya decides to end the conversation.

“Mhm...” The blonde simply nodded. Nothing good came out of discussing that right now, he might have to only focus on what’s ahead of them.

“Uhm.. N-Nii-chan..?” Tomoya suddenly halts in his tracks, shakily pointing ahead. “I-Isn’t that...” 

“Hm?” 

Nazuna stares off at the end of the hallway and notices someone very unpleasant yet familiar. They were covered in blood, and their movements felt sluggish, one would think it was a moving corpse. But no, the one moving towards them.. it was..

“I-Itsuki??”

That was a bad sign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was very valkyrie focused wwww, also I apologize for the cliff hanger ☆


End file.
